tihvary  of  trhe  Cheolojical  ^eminarjo 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

PURCHASED  BY  THE 

MRS.  ROBERT  LENOX  KENNEDY 

CHURCH  HISTORY  FUND 


V.  ^0^31 


BX  9211  .N70010  M306  1906 
Parkhurst,  Charles  Henry, 

1842-1933. 

A  brief  history  of  the 

Madison  Square  Presbyter ia: 


Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church 


-^  Brief  History  of  the 

Madison  Square  Presbyterian 
Church 

and  its  Activities 
by  Rev.  Charles  H.  Farkhurst,  D.D. 


New  Tork 

Printed  by  request 

igo6 


IRVING  PRESS 

119-121  East  Thirty-first  Street 

New  York 


Contents 

PAGE 

Foreword 13 

Historical  Sketch  of  the  Church  on  the  Square 15 

Memorial  Chapel  and  Adams  Memorial  Church 37 

Third  Avenue  Mission 47 

Madison  Square  Church  House 55 

Erection  of  the  New  Church 61 

Endowment  of  the  Church 73 

Ladies'  Association 79 

Employment  Society 85 

Loan  Relief  Society 89 

Ladies'  Visitation  Society  and  Bureau  of  Information. ...  95 

Fresh  Air  Work 97 

Helping  Hand 99 

Kindergarten 103 

Boys'  Club 105 

Girls'  Clubs ...    c 107 

Church  House  Library 109 


List  of  Illustrations 


FACING 
PAGE 


Broome    Street   Church 15 

Rev.  William  Adams,  D.  D 25 

Madison  Square  Church,   the  Old  and  the  New 29 

Rev.   William  J.   Tucker,  D.D 37 

Adams  Memorial  Church 43 

Rev.  C.  H.   Parkhurst,  D.D 47 

Church  House,   corner  of  Thirtieth  Street  and  Third 

Avenue 55 

The  Present  Church 61 

Rev.   Jesse   F.   Forbes,    Ph.  D 69 

Interior  of  the  Old  Church 81 

Interior  of  the  Old  Church 89 

Lecture  Room  of  the  Old  Church 97 

Sunday-school  Room  of  the  Old  Church 103 


Foreword 

IT  is  due  to  ourselves  as  well  as  to  those  who  have 
gone  before  us  that  we  should  cherish  the  recollec- 
tions of  the  past,  that  in  the  midst  of  all  our  for- 
ward endeavors  we  should  remember  that  the  roots  of 
our  presentlife  are  buried  in  the  old  years  andthat  what 
we  are  now,  and  that  what  we  can  do  now,  is  due  not 
only  to  the  ministration  of  God's  spirit  of  wisdom 
and  power,  but  due  also  to  those  who  once  stood 
where  we  now  stand  and  who,  by  their  prayerful  and 
faithful  service,  have  laid  the  foundations  upon  which 
we,  their  loyal  and  dutiful  children,  are  privileged  to 
build. 

It  is  at  the  impulse  of  this  motive  that  there  has 
been  prepared  the  accompanying  History  of  the  Mad- 
ison Square  Presbyterian  Church.  That  it  is  possible 
to  present  so  complete  a  record  of  the  earlier  part  of 
that  history  is  due  almost  entirely  to  the  painstaking 
service  of  Mr.  Joseph  Hartley,  recently  deceased,  who 
has  had  at  his  command  the  faithfully  kept  and  care- 
fully preserved  memoranda  of  his  honored  father,  the 
late  Robert  M.  Hartley,  a  long-time  member  of  our 
Session  and  whose  devoted  life  was  closely  knit  into 
the  religious  and  humanitarian  history  of  this  city. 

The  completion  of  the  first  half-century  of  our  his- 
tory as  a  church,  synchronizing  as  this  epoch  does 

13 


with  our  transference  to  a  new  edifice,  seems  to  render 
the  present  an  apt  time  for  putting  into  permanent 
form  the  story  of  our  past,  and  that  with  the  double 
purpose  of  binding  coming  years  more  closely  with 
those  that  are  gone,  and  of  stimulating  those  of  its 
membership  who  still  survive  to  conserve  the  legacy 
with  which  we  have  been  so  richly  endowed;  and  not 
only  to  conserve  it  but  in  due  time  to  bequeath  it 
aupfmented  in  wealth  and  volume  to  those  who  shall 
be  our  successors. 

C.  H.  Parkhurst 

New  York  City,  September  15,  1906. 


14 


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n  11 


iiniwiiiiiiH«Wi«imi»iiniiiiiir>ii|iiniMm,i,L»,ij{rn(i 
iiii»''«Miiwti)i;iiin)!iimt«4^m.i<JMw»>iii>»»t«i4»i.' 


Broome  Street  Church 


Historical  Sketch 

THE  Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church  is 
an  offshoot  of  the  Central  Presbyterian, 
formerly  worshipping  at  Broome  Street, 
a  brief  account  of  whose  beginnings  and  early 
struggles  cannot  but  serve  as  a  pertinent  and  inter- 
esting prelude  to  our  own  history. 

The  Central  Church  was  an  outcome  of  the  per- 
severing labors  of  the  Rev.  William  Patton,  D.D., 
who  in  March,  1820,  commenced  preaching  to  a  mere 
handful  of  people  in  a  school  room  in  Mulberry 
Street,  which  he  hired  on  his  own  responsibility. 
This  he  continued  for  one  year,  receiving  no  pecuni- 
ary compensation  for  his  services. 

His  efforts  were  so  blessed,  that  on  January  8th, 
1 82 1,  he  called  a  meeting  at  his  residence  in  Elm 
Street  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  church.  There 
were  present  on  that  occasion  the  Rev.  William 
Patton,  Rev.  William  Gray,  Mr.  John  Proctor,  Mr. 
Thomas  Donaldson  and  his  wife,  and  Mary,  wife  of 
the  Rev.  William  Patton. 

Having  with  appropriate  solemnity  implored  the 
Divine  blessing,  they  resolved  to  associate  themselves 
into  a  visible  church  of  Christ,  whereupon  Thomas 
Donaldson  and  John  Proctor  were  chosen  Deacons. 

15 


MADISON     SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

On  March  21st,  182 1,  Samuel  Hinman  and  John 
Proctor  were  elected  Ruling  Elders,  and  on  April  3d 
of  that  year,  at  a  meeting  convened  at  the  place  of 
worship,  it  was 

Resolved:  that  the  Rev.  William  Patton  be  called  to 
the  pastorate  of  said  church,  at  an  annual  salary  of  two 
thousand  dollars,  and  that  Lewis  St.  John  be  chosen 
chorister,  at  a  salary  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

The  membership  of  the  church  increased  rapidly, 
and  the  congregation  determined  to  erect  a  church 
edifice.  The  site  chosen  was  on  the  north  side  of 
Broome  Street,  between  Marion  and  Elm  Streets, 
seventy-five  feet  long  and  sixty  feet  wide.  Sufficient 
funds  having  been  subscribed  the  work  was  com- 
menced, the  corner-stone  laid,  and  on  May  7th,  1822, 
the  church  was  opened  for  public  worship. 

On  August  9th,  1854,  the  building  was  destroyed 
by  fire  but  immediately  rebuilt  and  enlarged  at  a 
cost  of  $40,000,  and  on  the  following  year  was  again 
open  for  service.  This  continued  until  the  removal 
of  the  church  to  Fifty-seventh  Street  in  October, 
1866,  while  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  James 
Wilson,  after  which  the  building  was  sold  and  pulled 
down  to  make  room  for  a  business  structure. 

The  Rev.  William  Patton,  pastor  of  the  church, 
having  been  appointed  Corresponding  and  Pastoral 
Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Education  Society, 
tendered  his  resignation,  and,  during  the  summer  of 

16 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


1834,  was  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  relations.  His 
connection  with  the  Education  Society  was  brief. 
In  1835  ^^  accepted  a  call  from  the  Spring  Street 
Presbyterian  Church  where  he  continued  until  1846. 

The  ministry  of  Dr.  Patton  at  Broome  Street  was 
remarkably  successful.  He  began  with  five  persons, 
but  on  leaving  at  the  close  of  a  pastorate  of  about 
fourteen  years,  nearly  a  thousand  members  had  been 
enrolled  on  the  church  register,  a  majority  of  whom 
had  been  received  on  confession  of  faith. 

On  August  1 8th,  1834,  an  evening  meeting  was 
called  to  supply  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  retire- 
ment of  the  Rev.  William  Patton,  D.D.,  at  which 
Oliver  Wilcox  presided,  and  Robert  M.  Hartley  was 
chosen  Secretary.  The  attendance  was  large  and  the 
commissioners  which  had  been  previously  appointed 
to  select  a  candidate  for  the  existing  vacancy  reported 
the  name  of  the  Rev.. William  Adams,  of  Brighton, 
Massachusetts,  which  nomination,  after  a  careful 
consideration  of  his  testimonials,  was  approved  by 
the  meeting,  and  the  Rev.  William  Adams  was 
chosen  pastor  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

The  proceedings  of  the  meeting  having  been  certi- 
fied by  the  signature  of  the  Chairman  and  Secretary, 
they,  conjointly  with  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  were 
appointed  commissioners  to  present  the  call  to  the 
Presbytery,  which  was  approved  by  that  body  Sep- 
tember 15th,  1834.     The  communicants  at  this  time 


17 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

numbered  540.  On  June  24th,  1844,  Dr.  Adams,  on 
account  of  ill  health,  asked  an  intermission  of  his 
ministerial  labors  for  a  season,  which  request  was 
granted  and  he  left  the  country  for  Europe  where  he 
remained  about  a  year. 

Under  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Adams  the  church  re- 
ceived a  fresh  impetus;  no  church  in  New  York  City 
at  that  time  exercised  a  wider  or  more  commanding 
influence,  not  only  in  the  city  but  throughout  the 
country  :  the  congregation  was  composed  largely  of 
the  cultivated  people  of  the  town,  prominent  in  every 
department  of  secular  and  religious  activity. 

These  relations  continued  until  the  fall  of  1853, 
when,  in  consequence  of  the  large  exodus  of  the 
people  up-town,  whereby  the  down-town  churches 
became  greatly  weakened,  on  January  17th  of  that 
year  Dr.  Adams  called  a  meeting  of  the  male  mem- 
bers of  his  church  to  decide  on  the  expediency  of  his 
continuance  as  its  pastor,  inasmuch  as  an  invitation 
had  been  extended  to  him  to  unite  with  those  who 
were  associated  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  new 
church  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city  and  to  consider 
the  wisdom  of  consolidating  the  Central  and  Pearl 
Street  churches — a  matter  which  had  been  for  some 
time  under  consideration. 

Accordingly  a  committee  was  appointed  to  take 
up  the  question  and  report  at  a  subsequent  meeting 
of  the  congregation,  such  committee  consisting  of 

18 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Rev.  William  A.  Hallock  M.  W.  Williams 

Robert  M.  Hartley  J.  W.  Weed 

James  Morris  John  Ten  Brook 

E.  Goodwin  Nathan  Brown 

George  Bacon  Ritter  Hadley 

A.  R.  Wetmore  Frederick  Bull 

The  report  of  this  committee,  submitted  to  the 
congregation  January  21st,  1853,  outlined  a  plan  for 
uniting  the  Pearl  Street  and  Central  Churches,  for 
continuing  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  in  the 
Broome  Street  Church  and  of  aiding  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  new  church  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 

On  February  3d,  1853,  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of 
the  Central  Church  was  called  at  which  Dr.  Adams 
presided,  the  following  named  elders  being  present : 
Messrs.  Blatchford,  Hartley,  Weed,  Chester  and  Bull. 

A  communication  having  been  received  from  the 
Pearl  Street  Church,  in  accordance  with  the  fore- 
going views,  it  was  ordered  to  be  engrossed  on  the 
minutes  of  the  Session,  and  the  following  action  was 
taken  on  the  subject : 

Resolved:  that  R.  M.  Hartley,  J.  W.  Weed  and 
M.  W.  Williams  be  appointed  commissioners  to  unite 
with  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  in  an  applica- 
tion to  the  Fourth  Presbytery,  to  dissolve  his  pas- 
toral relations  with  this  church. 

The  commissioners  above  named  were  moreover 
authorized  by  the  Session  to  act  in  the  matter  of 
uniting  the   Pearl  Street  Church  with  the  Broome 

19 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 

Street  Church.  This  having  been  successfully 
accomplished,  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Wood  assumed  the 
pastoral  duties  of  the  combined  churches. 

On  the  morning  of  the  first  Sabbath  of  February, 
1853,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Adams  delivered  his  last  sermon 
from  the  pulpit  which  he  had  occupied  more  than 
eighteen  years,  taking  his  text  from  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  2 1  St  chapter,  17th  to  21st  verses. 

In  the  afternoon  the  united  churches  assembled, 
when  the  Rev,  Joel  Parker,  D.  D.,  Moderator  of  the 
Fourth  Presbytery,  announced  its  action  to  be  in 
accord  with  the  request  of  the  respective  pastors  and 
the  commissioners  associated  with  them,  and  the 
officers  and  members  ratified  the  Presbyterial  Act  by 
a  rising  vote. 


Note  :  The  Pearl  Street  Church  was  originally  a 
colony  from  the  First  Associated  Reformed  Church 
in  Cedar  Street,  of  which  the  Rev.  John  Mason  was 
pastor.  A  church  edifice  was  erected  on  Magazine 
Street,  now  Pearl,  in  1797,  and  Dr.  Mason  for  a 
while  officiated  at  both  places.  In  1804  the  church 
became  independent,  taking  the  title  of  the  "Second 
Associated  Reformed  Church,"  and  the  Rev.  Robert 
Forest  was  called  as  its  first  pastor,  succeeded  later 
by  Rev.  A.  A.  Wood. 

20 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Officers  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church 

Pastors 
Rev.  William  Patton,  D.D. 
"     William  Adams,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
"     A.  A.  Wood 
"     James  A.  Dunn 
"     James  D.  Wilson 

Elders 


Samuel  Hinman 
John  Proctor 
J.  Russell 
Harlan  Page 
Oliver  Wilcox 
Henry  Abell 
Richard  Evans 
Alexis  Baker 
Samuel  M.  Blatchford 
William  J.  Buck 
Robert  M.  Hartley 


(From  1822  to  1840) 

Robert  O.  Dwight 
John  A.  Morton 
George  L.  Storer 
RuFUS  L.  Nevins 
George  Mather 
Charles  Williams 
John  M.  Weed,  M.D. 
Joseph  Hyde 
Stephen  M.  Chester 
James  Morris 
Frederick  Bull 


John  Proctor 
Thomas  Donaldson 
George  Mathew 
Samuel  Stiles 
Alfred  Edwards 
Timothy  Champerton 
James  Morris 
Oliver  Halstead 
Oliver  R.  Kingsbury 
John  A.  Dayton 


Deacons 

(From  1822  to  1840) 

munson  lockwood 
James  Miller 
R.  C.  Andrews 
John  Ten  Brook 
Ritter  Hadley 
James  B.  Thompson 
M.  W.  Williams,  M.D. 
Isaac  Ford 
Hezekiah  D.  Sharpe 


21 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 

In  the  winter  of  1852-3,  a  number  of  persons, 
principally  members  of  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Broome  Street,  consulted  together  in 
reference  to  the  foundation  of  a  new  church  to  supply 
more  adequately  the  religious  wants  in  what  was  then 
the  upper  part  of  the  city. 

This  was  not  done  without  due  consideration  for 
the  church  with  which  they  were  at  that  time  con- 
nected, and  the  section  of  the  city  in  which  it  was 
then  located.  The  result  of  their  deliberation  was 
such  as  to  indicate  the  guidance  of  Divine  Providence. 

The  Pearl  Street  Church,  at  the  corner  of  Elm  and 
Pearl  Streets,  on  account  of  the  great  changes  in  that 
part  of  the  city,  was  under  the  necessity  of  changing 
its  location.  This  and  the  Central  Church  were  not 
only  of  the  same  denomination,  but  belonged  to  the 
same  Presbytery.  After  mature  deliberation,  it  was 
resolved,  with  entire  unanimity,  that  the  churches 
should  combine  and  form  one  new  church  to  be 
designated  as  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church,  with 
Rev.  A.  A.  Wood,  then  in  charge  of  the  Pearl  Street 
Church,  as  pastor,  and  that  a  new  church  be  erected 
in  the  vicinity  of  Madison  Square,  with  the  Rev. 
William  Adams,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  pastor  of  the  Central 
Church,  as  its  pastor.  The  former  part  of  this  ar- 
rangement was  carried  into  immediate  effect. 

Dr.  Adams'  relation  with  the  Central  Church  hav- 
ing been  terminated  February  4th,  1853,  with  a  view 

22 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


to  his  becoming  pastor  of  the  church  to  be  newly 
organized  in  the  vicinity  of  Madison  Square,  active 
measures  were  taken  for  the  erection  of  the  new 
church  edifice.  Meetings  were  held  by  those  desir- 
ous of  partaking  in  the  new  enterprise  and  subscrip- 
tions for  a  considerable  amount  secured. 

On  the  eighth  of  February,  1853,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Session,  an  eligible  site  having  been  secured  on 
the  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty-fourth 
Street,  a  building  committee  was  appointed  with 
George  W.  Lane  as  Chairman. 

Having  matured  its  plans,  the  new  congregation 
commenced  public  worship  in  the  chapel  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  University  Place,  February 
13th,  1853. 

On  the  third  of  March  a  meeting  was  convened  of 
those  who  purposed  to  identify  themselves  with  the 
church  organization.  After  appropriate  services  con- 
ducted by  Dr.  Adams,  the  meeting  proceeded  to  the 
special  business  of  the  occasion.  Mr.  Frederick  Bull 
was  chosen  scribe,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-one 
members  of  the  Central  Church,  and  eleven  others 
belonging  to  seven  different  churches,  unanimously 
Resolved  : 

First,  that  we  whose  names  have  been  announced, 
associate  ourselves  as  a  visible  Church  of  Christ. 

Second,  that  we  receive  the  system  of  Doctrine 
contained  in  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Presby- 


23 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 

terian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  as 
our  standard. 

Thirds  that  we  cordially  approve  of  the  system  of 
Government  and  Discipline  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  adopt  the  same  as  ours. 

Fourth,  that  the  said  church  be  designated  as  the 
Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  City  of 
New  York. 

Fifth,  that  we  now  proceed  to  the  election  of 
officers,  whereupon  the  following  individuals  were 
duly  elected  Ruling  Elders : 

James  Morris  Samuel  M.  Blatchford 

Robert  M.  Hartley  Frederick  Bull 

Sixth,  that  application  be  made  to  the  Fourth 
Presbytery  of  New  York  to  receive  this  church  under 
its  care,  and  that  Robert  M,  Hartley  and  Charles  A. 
Bulkley  be  commissioners  for  that  purpose. 

Seventh,  that  we  now  proceed  to  the  election  of  a 
pastor. 

The  Rev.  A.  A.  Wood  of  the  Fourth  Presbytery, 
being  present  by  invitation,  moderated  the  call  of  a 
pastor,  which  resulted  in  the  unanimous  election  of 
Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  at  a  salary  of  three 
thousand  dollars  per  annum,  payable  quarterly,  the 
call  to  be  signed  by  the  Elders  and  presented  before 
the  Presbytery  by  Messrs.  R.  M.  Hartley  and  Charles 
A.  Bulkley  as  commissioners. 

24 


Rk\-.  William  Auams,   D.D. 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


The  call  having  been  made  out  in  the  usual  form 
was  signed  by 

T.  M.   Blatchford  S.  M.  Chester 

R.  M.  Hartley  James  Morris 

Frederick  Bull 

The  Moderator  endorsed  the  call  as  follows : 

"This  is  to  certify  that  the  within  call  to  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Adams,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  is  in  accordance  with  the 
form  of  Government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
that  it  was  entirely  unanimous,  and  that  Robert  M. 
Hartley  and  Charles  A.  Bulkley  were  chosen  com- 
missioners to  present  the  same  before  the  Fourth 
Presbytery  of  New  York. 

(Signed)     A.  A.  Wood,  Moderator.'' 
New  York,  March  3d,  1853. 

The  interesting  solemnities  and  transactions  of  the 
evening  were  closed  with  prayer  and  the  benediction 
by  the  Moderator,  Rev.  A.  A.  Wood. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was  laid  with 
religious  exercises  on  the  twelfth  day  of  July,  1853. 
Underneath  it  was  deposited  a  box  containing  a  copy 
of  the  Holy  Bible,  printed  the  same  year,  together 
with  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  Pastor,  the  Elders,  the 
Deacons  and  the  building  committee  of  the  church. 

On  March  30th,  1853,  the  Session  of  the  Madison 
Square  Presbyterian  Church  held  its  first  meeting  at 
the  house  of  the  pastor,   No.  601    Houston   Street. 

25 


MADISON      SQUA.RE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 

All  the  members  were  present,  viz.:  Rev.  William 
Adams,  D.D.,  Moderator;  Elders  Blatchford,  Morris, 
Hartley,  Chester  and  Bull. 

The  meeting  was  opened  with  prayer,  and  there 
were  numerous  applications  for  admission  to  mem- 
bership, both  by  certificate  and  confession  of  faith. 

The  Session  agreed  to  adopt  the  form  of  admission 
to  membership  that  was  used  by  the  Central  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  on  motion  it  was 

Resolved,  That  Frederick  Bull  be  appointed  Clerk 
of  the  Session,  and  as  such  be  authorized  to  give 
letters  of  dismission,  and  furthermore  that  he  be  ap- 
pointed Treasurer  of  the  Session. 

The  following  minutes  were  ordered  to  be  entered 
upon  the  records,  viz.: 

That  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was 
installed  as  pastor  of  this  church,  on  Saturday  even- 
ing, March  6th,  1853,  on  which  occasion  a  sermon 
was  preached  by  the  Rev.  James  P.  Wilson,  D.D., 
Professor  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  from 
the  text  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  20th  chapter, 
27th  verse  :  "  For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
unto  you  the  whole  council  of  God."  The  charge 
to  the  pastor  was  given  by  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Wood, 
and  to  the  people  by  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Skinner,  Jr. 
At  the  same  time  the  Elders  Elect,  viz.:  T.  M. 
Blatchford,  R.  M.  Hartley,  S.  M.  Chester,  James 
Morris  and  Frederick  Bull  were  installed  officers  of 

26 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


this  church  by  the  Rev,  Dr.  Wilson,  all  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  Fourth  Presbytery  of  New  York.  The 
services  were  held  in  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church,   Broome  Street. 

The  Session  met  at  No.  601  Houston  Street,  June 
9th,  1853,  the  moderator  and  all  the  members  of  the 
Session  present.  Many  persons  applied  for  member- 
ship by  certificate,  and  on  examination  were  received. 

On  June  14th,  1853,  ^^^  Board  of  Elders  was  en- 
larged by  the  addition  of  Messrs.  Treadwell  Ketcham 
and  Jesse  W.  Benedict ;  and  the  Board  of  Deacons 
by  the  addition  of  Messrs.  John  Ten  Brook,  George 
W.  Lane  and  Charles  H.  Trask. 

The  congregation  attending  the  ministration  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Adams  having  so  increased  in  numbers 
as  to  render  the  chapel  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  inadequate  to  their  accommodation,  Hope 
Chapel,  on  Broadway,  was  placed  at  their  disposal. 
The  opportunity  was  promptly  approved  and  the 
chapel  engaged  as  a  place  of  public  worship  for  the 
term  of  one  year  from  May  ist,  1853,  or  until  the 
completion  of  the  church  edifice  in  course  of  erection 
on  Madison  Avenue  and  24th  Street. 

Officers 

The  Elders  at  this  period  (1853)  were  : 

Samuel  M.   Blatchford  Frederick  Bull 

Stephen  M.   Chester  Robert  M.    Hartley 

James  Morris  Treadwell  Ketcham 

Jesse  W.  Benedict 

27 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 

Deacons : 

John  Ten  Brook  George  W.   Lane     \   Subsequently 

TT      m  f         elected 

Charles    H.    TrASK  )    Ruling  EWers 

Trustees : 

LuciEN  D.  Coman  Edmund  Dwight 

George  W.   Lane  Henry  Dwight,  Jr. 

Jesse  W.   Benedict  John  Ten  Brook 

Charles  Gould  Apollos  R.  Wetmore 

Charles  A.   Bulkley 

Henry   Dwight,   Jr.,   Chairman 

George  W.   Lane,    Treasurer 

Jesse  W.   Benedict,   Clerk 

On  December  24th,  1854,  the  new  edifice  being 
practically  completed,  (at  a  cost  of  about  $175,000), 
it  was  decided  to  take  possession  and  to  dedicate  it 
to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God. 

Note  :  It  may  be  proper  to  mention  here,  that  the 
success  of  this  new  church  enterprise  so  far  as 
material  results  were  concerned,  was  largely  due  to 
the  chairman  of  the  building  committee,  Mr.  George 
W.  Lane,  and  to  Mr.  Henry  Dwight,  Jr. 

Notice  of  the  completion  of  the  church  was  given 
by  the  Rev.  William  Adams  the  preceding  Sabbath 
in  Hope  Chapel.  Special  preparatory  services  were 
held  on  Friday,  December  2  2d,  in  the  morning  for 
prayer  by  the  Session  and  Deacons,  in  the  afternoon 
by  church  and  congregation,  and  in  the  evening  the 

28 


Madison  Square  Church 

The  Old  and  the  New 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Central  Church  and  congregation,  by  invitation, 
united  with  their  pastor,  Rev.  A.  A.  Wood,  who 
deHvered  a  discourse  appropriate  to  the  occasion 
from  the  Book  of  Exodus,  33d  chapter  and  14th 
verse  :  "  My  presence  shall  go  with  you  and  I  will 
give  you  rest." 

The  ensuing  Sabbath  a  large  congregation  as- 
sembled in  the  morning  to  hear  the  Dedicatory  Dis- 
course by  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  who  took  for  his 
text  the  14th  verse  of  the  26th  Psalm  :  "  Lord,  I  have 
loved  the  habitation  of  thy  house  and  the  place 
where  thine  honor  dwelleth."  In  the  afternoon  the 
Rev.  George  L.  Prentice  officiated,  and  in  the  evening 
the  Rev.  George  W.  Bethune,  D.D. 

After  a  pastorate  of  more  than  twenty  years, 
Dr.  Adams  on  November  19th,  1873,  tendered  his 
resignation  in  order  to  assume  the  duties  of  Presi- 
dent of  Union  Theological  Seminary  and  occupy  the 
chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric.  At  the  urgent  request  of 
the  church,  the  pastoral  relation  was  continued  until 
April  3d,  1874,  when  it  was  dissolved  by  act  of 
Presbytery. 

On  Sunday,  April  19th,  1874,  he  preached  his  fare- 
well sermon  to  the  Madison  Square  Church  congre- 
gation. He  had  presided  over  the  Broome  Street 
and  Madison  Square  churches  for  somewhat  over 
forty  years  and  his  sermon  was  devoted  in  the  main 
to  a  retrospect  of  those  years.     It  was  based  on  the 


29 


MADISON     SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 

8th  Chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  2d  verse  ; — "  And  thou 
shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
led  thee  these  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  to  humble 
thee  and  to  know  thee,  to  know  what  was  in  thine 
heart  whether  thou  wouldst  keep  His  commandments 
or  no."  He  was  installed  as  President  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary  on  the  nth  of  May,  which 
position  he  held  until  his  death.  He,  however,  con- 
tinued his  attendance  upon  the  ministrations  of  his 
church  until  his  removal  to  Orange  Mountain,  N.  J., 
where  he  initiated  church  services  and  where  eventu- 
ally the  residents  erected  a  pretty  stone  chapel  at 
St.  Cloud,  at  which  he  occasionally  officiated  and 
which  became  his  church  home  until  his  death  on  the 
30th  of  August,  1880. 

Although  twenty-six  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
death  of  Dr.  Adams  there  are  still  some  in  the  church 
and  congregation  who  remember  this  beloved  pastor. 
His  public  utterances  were  grand  in  thought  and 
magnetic  in  effect  and  his  social  life  always  genial 
and  companionable.  The  pulpit  remained  vacant 
until  May  12th,  1875,  when  Rev.  William  J.  Tucker, 
D.D.,  was  installed  as  pastor.  Dr.  Tucker's  pastorate 
was  comparatively  brief.  On  the  8th  of  October, 
1879,  he  resigned  in  obedience  to  a  call  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  Sacred  Rhetoric  in  Andover  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  which  position  he  subsequently  left  in 
order  to  become   President  of  Dartmouth  College. 


H  ISTORICAL    SKETCH 


He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst, 
D.D.,  who  was  installed  March  9th,  1880.  The 
sermon  on  that  occasion  was  preached  by  Rev.  Ros- 
well  D.  Hitchcock,  D.D.,  the  charge  to  the  pastor 
was  given  by  Rev.  Howard  Crosby,  D.D.,  the  charge 
to  the  people  by  Rev.  William  J.  Tucker,  D.D. 

Among  those  who  have  served  the  church  as 
assistant  ministers  during  Dr.  Parkhurst's  pastorate 
are  the  following  :  Rev.  Sherrod  Soule,  now  pastor 
of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Naugatuck,  Conn,; 
Rev.  William  R.  Bennett,  pastor  of  the  Morristown 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Morristown,  N.  J.;  Rev. 
Henry  H.  Tweedy,  at  present  pastor  of  the  South 
Congregational  Church  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.;  Rev. 
Howard  S.  Bliss,  president  of  the  Syrian  Protestant 
College,  Beirut,  Syria  ;  Rev.  J.  H.  Denison,  pastor 
of  the  Central  Congregational  Church,  Boston  ;  Rev. 
DuBois  S.  Morris,  working  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Foreign  Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  at 
present  located  at  Hwai  Yuen,  China ;  Rev.  George 
B.  Spalding,  recently  called  to  the  New  England 
Congregational  Church  of  Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y.; 
Rev.  Edward  H.  Rudd,  now  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Dedham,  Mass.;  Rev.  William  W. 
Coe,  Managing  Editor  of  the  "  Bible  Record,"  and 
Rev.  George  R.  Montgomery,  the  present  incumbent, 
recently  pastor  of  the  Olivet  Congregational  Church 
of  Bridgeport,  Conn. 


31 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

The  following-named  persons  have  held  the  posi- 
tion of  Superintendent  of  the  home  Sunday  School  : 

Mr.  William  E.   Dodge,  prior  to  1872 

Mr.  James  A.   Parsons  .  1872-1875 

Mr.  Charles  S.   Hurd  .  1875-1877 

Mr.  William  N.  Crane  .  1877-1881 

Mr.  William  P.  St.  John  .  1881-1886 

Mr.  John  C.   Coleman  .  1886-1896 

Rev.  Edward  H.   Rudd  .  1896-1901 

Rev.  W.  W.  Coe  .  .  1901-1905 

Rev.  Geo.  R.  Montgomery  is  the  present  Superintendent. 


There  follow  herewith  lists  respectively  of  the 
members  of  the  three  Boards  of  the  Church  cover- 
ing our  entire  history  to  the  present  time. 


Trustees 


Henry  Dwight,  Jr 1853-1857 

Lucian    D.  Coman 1853-1864 

Edmund   Dwight 1853-1861 

George  W.  Lane 1853-1885 

Apollos  R.  Wetmore 1853-1881 

John  Ten  Brook 1853-1891 

Jesse  W.  Benedict 1853-1865 

Charles  A.  Bulkley 1853-1886 

Charles  Gould 1853-1863 

Francis  F.  Marbury 1857-1890 

John  Van  Arsdale 1861-1879 

William  C.  Martin 1862-1872 

Amos  T.  Dwight 1863-1881 

32 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Edmund  D.  Stanton 1865-1873 

Morris  Woodruff 1873-1886 

David  S.   Egleson 1873-1897 

Arthur  B.  Graves 1879-1897 

William  H.  Ross 1881-1902 

Charles  W.  Isham 1881-1885 

D.  Willis  James 1885-1897 

Ezra  M.  Kingsley 1885-1897 

Frederick  H.   Cossitt 1886-1887 

William  C.  Sturges 1886- 

Benjamin  G.  Clarke 1887-1892 

Charles  H.  Woodbury 1890-1893 

Augustus  D.  Juilliard 1892- 

Louis  Lee  Stanton 1892- 

William  E.  Stiger 1893- 

William  N.  Crane 1897- 

Edward  C.   Bodman 1897- 

Charles  H.  Ludington 1897- 

Frederick    Baker   1897-1903 

Francis  Louis  Slade 1902- 

Marcellus  Hartley  Dodge 1903- 

Elders 

March  3d,  1853  December  7th,  1866 
Samuel  L.  Blatchford  ^ 

Frederic  K.  Bull  ^^^1°  Wetmore 

Stephen  M.  Chester  Charles  Collins 

Robert  M.  Hartley  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr. 

James  Morris  J^^n  F.  Trow 

June  14th,  1853 

Tredwell  Ketcham  December,  1872 

Jesse  W.  Benedict  ^enry  Ivison 

March  22d,  186 1  Theodore W.Dwight,LL.D. 

Oliver  E.  Wood  Charles  H.Tr  ask  (Re-elected) 

Ezra  M.  Kingsley  W.  C.  Martin 

Aaron  Carter,  Jr.  William  N.  Crane 

George  W.  Lane  John  Crosby  Brown 

Charles  H.  Trask  Francis  H.  Slade 

33 


MADISON      SQUARE      PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH 


January  8th,  1879 

Albon  p.  Man 
Francis  P.  Freeman 
Joseph  Gillet 
Charles  H.  Woodbury 

November  29th,  1882 

Ezra  M.  Kingsley 

(Re-elected) 
January  7th,  1885 

D.  Willis  James 
S.  Hastings  Grant 

December  8th,  1886 
John  Ten  Brook 

December  12th,  1888 
Clarence  E.  Beebe 


December  loth,  1890 
Horace  J.  Fairchild 
Henry  M.  Humphrey 

February  5th,  1893 
Frederick  C.  Colton 

February  4th,  1894 
William  E.  Stiger 

February  6th,  1898 
Charles  T.  Kissam 
J.  H.  C.  Nevius 

April  loth,  1901 

Edward  C.  Bodman 
Robert  W.  deForest 

April  5th,  1903 

William  M.  Kingsley 


Deacons 


February,  1854 

John  Ten  Brook 
George  W.  Lane 
Charles  H.  Trask 

April,  1861 

W.  E.  Dodge,  Jr. 
A.  O.  Van  Lennep 
D.  Willis  James 
David  Wetmore 
Joseph  Gillet 
S.  Hastings  Grant 
S.  Tyler  Williams 

December,  1866 

Benjamin  S.  Walcott 
Francis  H.  Slade 
W.  C.  Martin 


January,  1873 

Francis  P.  Freeman 
Anson  Phelps  Stokes 
Francis  Leathe 
Theodore  W.  Morris 
Eugene  Delano 

January,  1877 

Charles  H.  Woodbury 
J.  Edwards  Read 
Frederick  C.  Colton 

January,  1878 

Daniel  H.  Hastings 
George  H.  Sipp 

April,  1879 

Clarence  E.  Beebe 
Henry  Dale 


34 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


November,  1879 

J.  Adams  Bishop 
Charles  H.  Patterson 

March,  1883 

Cleveland  H.  Dodge 
John  F.  Harmon 

January,  1885 

William  P.  St.  John 

December,   1886 

Charles  A.  Munger 
Henry  M.  Humphrey 
William  C.  Stuart 

December,  1888 

J.  H.  C.  Nevius 
Talbot  Olyphant 


December,   1890 

William  M.  Kingsley 

February,  1893 

Henry  N.  Tifft 

April,  1893 

Arthur  C.  James 

April,   1895 

Chas.  a.  B.  Pratt 
Francis  L.  Slade 

January,  1898 

James  Slater 
Charles  E.  Lawton 

April,  1904 

Seth  Sprague  Terry 
Ernest  T.  Carter 
Arthur  C.  Ludington 


35 


Kk\  .  William    |.    Tl^ckeu,    D.l). 


Memorial  Chapel  and  Adams  Memorial 
Church 

HAVING  greatly  prospered  in  its  own  brief 
history,  the  church  was  early  moved  to  make 
some  expression  of  gratitude  for  the  Divine 
favor  which  it  had  enjoyed,  by  special  endeavors  to 
benefit  others  who  were  without  adequate  religious 
instruction.  Accordingly  in  the  early  months  of 
1855-6,  systematic  measures  were  inaugurated  for  the 
establishing  of  a  mission  chapel  and  Sabbath  School 
commensurate  with  the  wants  of  a  large  section  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  city,  lying  along  the  East 
River  between  Twenty-third  Street  and  Forty-second 
Street,  and  for  that  purpose  the  following  committee 
was  appointed : 

Robert  M.  Hartley  Charles  Gould 

J.  LowERY  George  W.  Lane 

On  entering  upon  their  labors  the  committee  soon 
found  that  the  mission  field  had  been  wisely  chosen, 
inasmuch  as  any  manageable  number  of  neglected 
children  and  adults  who  were  unreached  by  any  other 
Christian  agencies,  might  there  be  gathered  for  re- 
ligious instruction.  The  apartment  first  occupied  for 
the  purpose  was  a  rough,  uncomfortable  room,  which 
during  week  days  was  used  as  a  carpenter  shop,  situ- 
ated on  the  north  side  of  Twenty-ninth  Street,  near 
Third  Avenue. 

37 


ADAMS     MEMORIAL     CHURCH 


The  first  scholars  were  mostly  wild,  uncontrollable 
children,  who  upon  the  first  and  second  Sabbaths  tore 
up  and  destroyed  many  of  the  Bibles  and  singing- 
books,  rendering  the  presence  of  a  policeman  neces- 
sary to  the  maintenance  of  even  tolerable  order. 
Eventually,  however,  by  special  favor,  the  children 
were  permitted  temporarily  to  assemble  in  the  public 
school  building  on  Twenty-seventh  Street,  between 
Second  and  Third  Avenues.  Elder  James  Morris, 
whose  long  experience  in  Sunday  School  work,  and 
whose  Christian  character  eminently  qualified  him  for 
the  responsible  position,  was  the  first  appointed  super- 
intendent, with  his  son,  Theodore  Morris,  as  assistant. 
In  April,  Mr.  Morris  died,  and  in  May,  Mr.  William  E. 
Dodge,  jr.,  was  selected  to  succeed  him. 

But  it  eventually  became  evident  to  the  committee 
having  the  matter  in  charge  that  it  would  be  imprac- 
ticable to  continue  the  work  so  auspiciously  begun 
and  so  full  of  promise  for  the  future,  unless  the 
church,  as  such,  became  the  owner  of  a  building 
suitable  for  the  purpose. 

After  mature  deliberation,  the  Committee  decided 
to  recommend  the  purchase  of  a  lot,  forty  by  one 
hundred  feet,  situated  on  Third  Avenue,  between 
Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first  Streets,  and  to  erect  thereon 
a  suitable  building  ;  the  lower  floor  to  be  rented  for 
business  purposes,  and  the  upper  stories  to  be  appro- 
priated to  the  object  of  the  mission. 

38 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


At  a  special  meeting  of  the  membership  of  the 
Madison  Square  Church,  March  20th,  1857,  this 
committee  submitted  its  report  which  was  accepted, 
and  its  recommendations  adopted. 

Funds  being  necessary  for  the  purchase  of  the 
aforesaid  lots,  Elder  J.  W.  Benedict  and  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Church  Committee  volunteered  to  solicit 
subscriptions  for  that  purpose.  The  requested  money 
was  raised,  the  lots  were  purchased,  and  a  building 
erected  there  at  a  cost  of  $5,000. 

The  building  was  completed  in  January,  1858,  and 
on  Sabbath  morning,  January  loth,  the  commodious 
chapel  was  occupied  by  the  Sunday  School  for  the 
first  time.  On  the  following  Sabbath  morning,  was 
held  the  first  church  service  for  adults,  when  a  ser- 
mon was  preached  by  Dr.  Adams  of  the  parent 
church.  Similar  services  were  held  on  succeeding 
Sabbath  evenings,  various  ministers  officiating. 

In  addition  to  the  volunteer  teachers  and  visitors 
employed  in  many  offices  of  Christian  kindness,  in 
September,  1858,  the  Rev.  William  Hough  was  en- 
gaged as  a  supply  to  conduct  regular  public  services 
and  administer  Sacraments  at  the  usual  services  of 
public  worship,  and,  on  the  evening  of  March  13th, 
1859,  was  ordained  as  an  Evangelist  at  the  Madison 
Square  Church  by  the  Fourth  Presbytery.  Mr. 
Hough  supplied  the  pulpit  from  March,  1858,  to  May 
I  St,    1859.      May   17th,    i860,  Mr.    Hough  left  for  a 


39 


ADAMS    MEMORIAL    CHURCH 


vacation  of  six  weeks,  hoping  thus  to  recruit  his  ex- 
hausted strength.  But  finding  still  further  rest 
necessary,  he  tendered  his  resignation,  which  was 
accepted. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Pay- 
son,  who  had  supplied  the  pulpit  during  the  tempo- 
rary absence  of  Mr.  Hough,  was  invited  to  take  his 
place,  and  accepted  the  call.  He  was  ordained  as  an 
Evangelist  at  the  Chapel,  Sabbath  evening,  Novem- 
ber 25th,  i860. 

The  opening  exercises  were  conducted  by  the 
Moderator  of  the  Presbytery,  Rev.  James  H.  Dwight, 
and  the  sermon  preached  by  Rev.  George  L.  Pren- 
tiss, D.D.,  Professor  in  the  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, and  formerly  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the 
Covenant  of  this  city.  The  consecrating  prayer  was 
offered  by  the  Rev.  Henry  B.  Smith,  Professor  of 
Theology  in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  accom- 
panied by  the  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  Presbytery, 
after  which  a  touching  charge  to  the  pastor  was 
made  by  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  his  peculiar 
relations  as  the  head  of  the  parent  church  giving  to 
it  very  special  interest. 

During  the  summer  of  i860,  the  same  year  in 
which  Mr.  Payson  assumed  the  care  of  the  mission,  it 
became  evident  that  the  accommodations  afforded  by 
the  chapel  were  insufficient  for  the  growing  demands 
of  the  work  ;  additions  were  accordingly  made  to  the 


40 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


chapel  building,  consisting  of  an  extension  of  the 
main  edifice  some  twenty-five  feet  in  the  rear,  to- 
gether with  two  wings,  the  one  fronting  on  Thirty-first 
Street,  the  other  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  chapel, 
each  two  stories  high.  These  furnished  rooms  for 
the  infant  class  on  Sunday,  and  for  social  gatherings 
and  prayer  meetings  during  the  week,  as  well  as  for 
a  large  and  well-arranged  Sunday  School  Library, 

Once  more  the  increased  work  of  the  mission 
called  for  enlarged  accommodations.  It  was  accord- 
ingly determined  to  dispose  of  the  property  on  Third 
Avenue,  and  erect  a  new  chapel  on  a  site  secured  for 
that  purpose  on  Thirtieth  Street  between  Second  and 
Third  Avenues. 

The  cornerstone  of  the  new  chapel  was  laid  by 
Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  with  appropriate  serv- 
ices, September  14th,  1874,  and  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  the  Master,  Easter  Sunday,  March  28th, 
1875,  o^  which  occasion,  Rev,  Mr.  Payson  delivered 
a  discourse,  taking  his  text  from  Joshua  iv.  7  : — 
"These  stones  be  for  a  memorial."  It  received  the 
name  of  the  Memorial  Chapel.  The  building  and 
foundation  of  the  new  chapel  cost  about  $60,000,  and 
the  land  $15,000,  of  which  about  $12,000 'was  raised 
by  the  people  at  the  mission,  the  remainder  contrib- 
uted by  the  Madison  Square  Church. 

Another  progressive  step  in  the  usefulness  of  this 
mission  work  on  the  East  Side  was  the  establishment 


41 


ADAMS    MEMORIAL    CHURCH 


of  a  German  congregation  in  1869  to  meet  the  wants 
of  a  large  number  of  that  nationaHty  who  were  with- 
out church  privileges.  Mr.  Payson's  visit  to  Ger- 
many immediately  after  his  graduation  from  the 
Theological  Seminary  enabled  him  to  acquire  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  German  language  and 
was  of  great  service  to  him  in  winning  the  confidence 
of  a  large  number  of  Germans  resident  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  mission.  For  the  sake  of  retain- 
inor  them  and  their  children,  it  was  found  desirable 
to  organize  a  separate  service  and  for  this  purpose  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  a  German  pastor.  This 
arrangement  was  consummated  and  in  1869  the 
Rev.  Martin  A.  Erdmann  was  invited  to  that  posi- 
tion. Nine  years  later,  Mr.  Erdmann  was  compelled 
by  impaired  health  to  relinquish  his  labors  and  died 
on  the  ist  of  July,  1878.  He  was  succeeded  in  the 
German  work  on  the  27th  of  January,  1878,  by  the 
Rev.  Louis  Wolferz.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Payson  for 
more  than  seventeen  years  presided  over  the  Third 
Avenue  Mission,  receiving  the  hearty  and  liberal  aid 
of  the  parent  church.  Under  his  ministry  the  mission 
became  a  strong  institution  and  raised  for  its  support, 
from  its  own  members,  between  four  and  five  thou- 
sand dollars  annually, — what  was  still  lacking  being 
supplied  by  the  Madison  Square  Church. 

In  the  providence  of  God  which  proved  that   Mr. 
Payson's    work  w^as    nearly  done  when    he  entered 


42 


!ifg«|!lifi; 


i.«««Si,SEf54T;^?@^^  ^ra%?^'-'«i.^^NS'**Si^^^fe^'?8ir"- 


AD'MMS    ]MeMORI4I     Chukch 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


with  his  flock  into  the  new  building,  he  was  privileged 
to  continue  his  services  there  scarcely  two  years  and 
was  then  taken  from  the  midst  of  abundant  useful- 
ness and  widely  extending  labors  while  still  in  the 
fulness  of  life  and  with  the  best  of  his  ministry  yet 
in  prospect.     He  died  on  January  24th,  1877. 

Mr.  Payson  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Edgar  A. 
Elmore,  who,  to  this  end,  was  ordained  an  evangelist 
May  15th,  1877.  Mr.  Elmore  labored  faithfully  and 
successfully  for  nearly  eight  years,  when  failing 
health  necessitated  a  change  and  he  resigned.  Since 
his  resignation  he  has  been,  from  1885-8,  pastor  of 
the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  Knoxville,  Tenn., 
and  is  now  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

The  vacancy  created  by  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Elmore  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  the  Rev. 
Jesse  F.  Forbes,  a  graduate  of  Amherst  College 
and,  when  called  to  New  York,  pastor  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church  of  Warren,  Mass. 

Previous  to  the  coming  of  Dr.  Forbes,  the  ques- 
tion had  been  raised  and  somewhat  animatedly  dis- 
cussed whether  the  work  of  Memorial  Chapel  should 
be  continued  as  a  part  of  the  Madison  Square  Church 
or  whether  the  time  had  not  come  when  worshippers 
at  the  Chapel  should  be  organized  and  recognized  as 
an  individual  church.  Sentiment  both  at  the  Chapel 
and  at  the  Madison  Square  Church  inclined  toward 


43 


AEIAMS    MEMORIAL    CHURCH 


the  latter  policy,  and  on  the  nth  of  January,  1886, 
the  following  petition  was  presented  to  Dr.  Parkhurst 
and  by  him  laid  before  the  Presbytery  of  New  York 
City: — "We  the  undersigned  members  of  Madison 
Square  Church  worshipping  at  the  Chapel,  respect- 
fully request  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  to  organize 
us  into  an  independent  Presbyterian  church." 

This  petition  was  signed  by  more  than  one  hun- 
dred members.  Presbytery  granted  the  request  and 
appointed  the  following  committee :  Rev.  C.  H. 
Parkhurst,  Rev.  Jesse  F.  Forbes,  Rev.  J.  R.  Kerr, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Worrall,  with  Elders  W.  C.  Martin  and 
W.  F.  Lee.  This  committee  met  at  Memorial 
Chapel  on  January  21,  1886,  and  organized  an  inde- 
pendent church  consisting  of  276  persons  dismissed 
from  the  Madison  Square  Church.  The  new  church 
thus  constituted  selected  for  its  name  "  Adams 
Memorial  Presbyterian  Church,"  in  honor  of  Rev. 
Dr.  William  Adams,  who  for  so  many  years  had 
been  pastor  of  the  parent  church. 

On  February  2d,  1886,  pursuant  to  the  call  of  Ses- 
sion, the  congregation  of  Adams  Memorial  Church 
was  convened  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  pastor. 
Dr.  Parkhurst  presided  and  the  congregation  made 
unanimous  choice  of  the  Rev.  Jesse  F.  Forbes.  This 
call  was  presented  to  Presbytery  February  8th,  1886, 
and  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  pastor-elect, 
whose  acceptance  of  the  call  having  been  signified  by 


44 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


him,  Reverends  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Francis  Brown, 
Samuel  D.  Burchard  and  C.  A.  Stoddard  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  install  the  pastor.  The 
installation  occurred  on  the  7th  of  March,  1886, 
when  Dr.  Parkhurst  presided,  preaching  the  sermon  ; 
Professor  Brown  offered  the  installing  prayer.  Dr. 
Burchard  charged  the  pastor  and  Dr.  Stoddard 
charged  the  people. 

At  this  time  also  the  German  branch  was  organ- 
ized as  an  independent  church,  under  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Wolferz,  but  from  that  time  on  ceased 
all  connection  with  the  Adams  Memorial  Church. 


45 


Rl'.V.    C.     H.     rARKHlKST,     D.D. 


The  Third  Avenue  Mission 

THE  success  attained  by  the  Memorial  Mis- 
sion on  Thirtieth  Street,  and  its  consequent 
diminished  need  of  the  personal  services  of 
members  of  the  parent  church  induced  the  enquiry 
whether  some  new  enterprise  might  not  be  under- 
taken by  us  which  should  serve  as  an  outlet  to  our 
unexpended  Christian  interest  and  energy.  In  the 
years  '84  and  '85  some  experiments  were  tried  along 
this  line  in  the  shape  of  boys'  club  work.  A  good 
many  of  the  young  men  and  women  of  our  Church 
threw  themselves  devotedly  and  enthusiastically  into 
the  undertaking,  but  the  feeling  gradually  took  pos- 
session of  all  the  participants  that  while  the  services 
rendered  were  profitable  to  those  who  rendered  them 
and  resulted  in  entertaining  the  recipients  of  our  atten- 
tions, no  permanent  results  were  wrought  in  the 
characters  of  the  boys  gathered  into  the  club  and 
that  there  was  little,  if  anything,  to  show  for  our  out- 
lay in  time  and  money. 

These  experiments,  however,  had  this  much  value, 
that  they  successfully  demonstrated  their  fruitlessness 
and  led  to  the  conviction  that  if  we  were  going  to 
secure,  among  either  young  or  old,  effects  that  should 
have  the  quality  of  permanence,  we  must  do  work 

47 


THE    THIRD    AVENUE    MISSION 

that  was  more  fundamental  and  think  less  about 
amusing  people  and  more  about  gospelizing  them. 

With  this  object  in  view,  a  conference  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Dr.  Parkhurst  on  the  eveninor  of  Novem- 
ber  15th,  1886.  At  this  conference  there  were  pres- 
ent beside  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Messrs.  J.  Adams  Bishop, 
E.  W.  Frost,  William  C.  Stewart,  A.  T.  Enos,  Wil- 
liam M.  Kingsley,  J.  E.  Reed,  Howard  S.  Bliss, 
Henry  M,  Humphrey  and  W.  H.  Kingsley.  Those 
present  resolved  themselves  into  a  committee  for  the 
inauguration  and  maintenance  of  mission  work  on  the 
east  side  of  the  town,  and  organized  in  the  election 
of  the  following  officers  :  Chairman,  E.  W.  Frost; 
Treasurer,  J.  Adams  Bishop;  Secretary,  H.  M.  Hum- 
phrey. Dr.  Parkhurst  and  Dr.  Bishop  were  made  a 
committee  on  finance. 

After  careful  inquiry,  the  building  No.  386  Third 
Avenue  was  rented  for  six  months  from  November 
ist,  1886.  The  joint  services  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 
E.  Ballou  as  missionaries  were  secured  at  the  rate  of 
$1,500  per  annum,  their  year  to  commence  December 
ist,  1886.  The  several  members  of  the  committee 
pledged  themselves  to  active  cooperation  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ballou  and  made  themselves  responsible  for 
the  music,  the  ushering,  etc.,  etc.,  one  or  more  even- 
ings being  assigned  to  each:  viz.,  to  Dr.  Parkhurst, 
Thursday  and  Saturday ;  to  Mr.  Frost,  Sunday  and 
Tuesday;    to  Mr.  Stewart,  Wednesday;  to  Messrs. 

48 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Kingsley  and  Humphrey,  Monday;  to  Mr.  Reed  and 
Dr.  Bishop,  Friday. 

The  success  of  the  work  having  been  demonstrated, 
it  was  voted  in  January,  1887,  to  arrange  if  possible 
for  a  two  years'  extension  of  the  lease  of  386  Third 
Avenue.  Negotiations  proving  unsuccessful,  it  was 
voted  on  the  19th  of  April  of  that  year  to  lease  for 
two  years,  480  Third  Avenue,  which  was  effected. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  committee  held  May  2d, 
1887,  Mr.  E.  W.  Frost  resigned  the  chairmanship  on 
account  of  his  intended  removal  from  the  city.  It 
was  at  that  meeting  that  it  was  unanimously  voted 
that  the  Mission  be  called  the  "Madison  Square 
Church  Mission."  October  loth,  1887,  Messrs.  H. 
B.  Twombly  and  William  C.  Hill  were  elected  to 
membership  on  the  committee.  The  annual  budget 
at  this  time  amounted  to  about  $6,000.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  soliciting  subscriptions,  the  names  of  the 
congregation  were  divided  among  the  different  mem- 
bers of  the  committee. 

May  I  St,  1 889,  it  was  resolved  to  appropriate  $800  to 
the  support  of  George  Graff  with  the  understanding 
that  he  should  give  half  of  his  time  to  our  mission 
work  in  aid  of  Mr.  Ballou,  and  half  of  his  time  to  study 
with  a  view  to  greater  efficiency  in  evangelical  work. 

The  name  of  Henry  N.  Tifft  as  member  of  the 
committee  first  appears  on  the  minutes  of  the  meet- 
ing held  December  i6th,  1889. 


49 


THE    THIRD    AVENUE    MISSION 

In  view  of  the  continued  illness  of  our  Chairman, 
Mr.  Read,  it  was  voted  January  12th,  1891,  to  create 
the  office  of  vice-chairman  and  Mr.  Henry  N.  Tifft 
was  elected  to  that  office. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  committee  held  April  3d, 
1891,  it  was  voted  to  transfer  our  work  to  430  Third 
Avenue  and  that  the  new  building  be  known  as  the 
"  Madison  Square  Church  House."  In  November 
of  the  same  year  the  committee  inaugurated  a  line 
of  kindergarten  work  under  the  direction  of  Miss 
Parsons. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ballou  resigned  their  position  as 
superintendents  early  in  1892  and  their  resignation 
was  accepted  with  an  expression  of  deep  regret  on 
the  part  of  the  committee  and  of  appreciation  of 
their  most  faithful  and  efficient  services.  That  which 
our  Gospel  work  on  Third  Avenue  has  since  become 
is  due  in  very  considerable  measure  to  the  secure 
and  evangelical  foundation  laid  for  it  by  the  Ballous 
in  the  six  years  that  they  were  in  charge. 

Minutes  of  a  meeting  held  March  15th,  1892,  con- 
tain the  following  memorandum.  "  Dr.  Parkhurst 
reported  that  George  Graff  had  been  secured  as 
superintendent,  and  that,  for  assistant,  consideration 
had  been  ofiven  to  the  name  of  a  Miss  Haines  of 
Chicago,  who  had  been  connected  with  Graff  in  some 
work  there."  At  the  meeting  following,  definite  en- 
gagement was  reported  as  having  been  made  with 

50 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Miss  Haines.  At  the  same  meeting,  Dr.  Bishop  re- 
signed the  treasurership  of  the  committee  and  Mr. 
William  M.  Kingsley  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy 
so  created.  At  about  this  time  the  Bureau  of  Infor- 
mation work  was  commenced  under  the  charge  of 
Mrs.  G.  L.  Buckley. 

The  committee  as  constituted  on  January  7th, 
1893,  according  to  secretary's  minutes  as  of  that 
date,  was  as  follows: — 

Rev.  C.  H.  Parkhurst  R.  M.  Montgomery 

William  M.  Kingsley  William  C.  Hill 

Henry  M.  Humphrey  Talbot  Olyphant 

William  C.  Stewart  J.  H.  C.  Nevius 

J.  Adams  Bishop  Arthur  C.  James 

Henry  N.  Tifft  Horace  J.  Fairchild 
J.  E.  Read 

In  November,  1893,  Mr.  Tifft,  who  had  been  act-- 
ing  chairman  during  the  illness  of  Mr.  Read,  was  at 
Mr.  Read's  death  made  chairman  upon  motion  made 
by  Mr.  Kingsley  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Olyphant. 
Anniversary  exercises  were  held  in  November  of  that 
year  and  addresses  delivered  by  Rev.  Drs.  Davis 
and  Forbes,  and  by  Messrs.  John  Crosby  Brown  and 
William  E.  Dodge. 

In  1894  our  work  was  moved  to  384  Third  Avenue 
under  a  lease  of  five  years  dating  from  April  of  that 
year.  On  July  ist,  1896,  it  was  voted  to  discontinue 
the  kindergarten  work  because  of  lack  of  money  and 
want  of  room. 

51 


THE    THIRD    AVENUE    MISSION 

The  name  of  Miss  Boyden  as  possible  candidate 
for  the  position  of  kindergartner  is  first  mentioned 
in  the  secretary's  minutes  of  a  committee  meeting 
held  October  2d,  1896.  Engagement  was  made  with 
her  to  commence  work  October  19th,  her  class  to  be 
held  at  the  Adams  Memorial  Church. 

Mrs.  Buckley  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  Bureau 
of  Information  November  ist,  1896,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Mission  Committee. 

On  December  4th,  1896,  it  was  reported  from  the 
Kindergarten  sub-committee  that  it  had  been  thought 
advisable  that  a  ladies'  committee  of  the  Kindergar- 
ten should  be  appointed  and  that  Mrs.  Stanton  had 
consented  to  serve  as  chairwoman  of  such  committee. 

In  June  of  1898  Mr.  Graff,  Superintendent,  sud- 
denly broke  down  in  health  and  his  place  was  tempo- 
rarily filled  by  Rev.  E.W.  Bliss,with  the  understanding 
that  his  services  were  to  continue  till  December  31st, 
1898.  At  the  meeting  in  October  of  that  year  Mr. 
H.  M.  Humphrey  resigned  the  secretaryship  and 
Mr.   F.   L.   Slade  was  elected  in  his  place. 

The  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Bliss,  whose  superin- 
tendency  though  brief  had  been  singularly  successful, 
created  a  vacancy  not  easily  filled,  and  it  was  not  till 
the  first  of  March,  1900,  that  Mr.  George  A.  Hilton 
commenced  work  as  his  successor,  who,  however, 
continued  service  only  till  near  the  close  of  1901. 
Since  that  date  we  have  been  served  by  Rev.  Lee 

52 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


W.  Beattie,  who  came  to  us  recommended  by  Rev. 
Drs.  Lyman  Abbott  and  George  Alexander. 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  present  (Janu- 
ary 25th,  1906)  membership  of  the  committee  in 
charge  of  the  Gospel  work  at  the  Church,  together 
with  its  organization  and  the  workers  under  its 
direction. 

Henry  N.  Tifft  .  .  .  Chairman 
William  M.  Kingsley  .  Treasurer 
Francis  Louis  Slade      .      Secretary 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  D.D. 
William  C.  Stuart  Matthew  Beattie 

Arthur  C.  James  E.  C.  Bodman 

J.  H.  C.  Nevius  Eugene  Delano 

Seth  Sprague  Terry  J.  E.  Milholland 

Rev.  Lee  W.  Beattie Superintendent 

Miss  E.  L.  Haines Director  of  Women's  Work 

Miss  Anna   Parker   -     Director  of  Music  and  Children's  Work 

Miss  Helen  F.  Grand Visiting  Nurse 

Miss  I.  V.  Waldo Visitor 

During  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  Beattie  up  to 
this  time  the  work  has  been  a  steadily  progressive 
one,  no  special  changes  having  in  the  meantime 
transpired  except  in  the  matter  of  a  change  of  domi- 
cile of  which  a  detailed  account  follows. 


53 


Chlrch   House 

Corner  Thirtieth  Street  and  Third  Avenue 


Review  of  the  History  of  the  Madison 
Square  Church  House 

IN  October,  1898,  owing  to  the  urgent  need  of 
better  and  larger  accommodations  for  the  gospel 
meetings  of  our  Third  Avenue  Mission,  and  for 
other  enterprises  auxiliary  to  the  gospel  work,  and 
owing  to  the  fact  that  our  Kindergarten  and  Girls' 
Clubs  were  compelled  to  meet  elsewhere  for  lack  of 
proper  quarters  at  No.  384  Third  Avenue,  a  plan  was 
set  on  foot  to  secure  sufificient  funds  from  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church  and 
others  who  might  be  interested,  to  build  and  equip 
a  suitable  building  of  our  own,  to  house  all  the  depart- 
ments of  our  East  Side  work  in  one  and  the  same 
building,  and,  under  proper  care  and  supervision,  to 
allow  also  Oi  resident  settlement  work  there. 

Having  first  received  the  approval,  encouragement 
and  assistance  of  Dr.  Parkhurst,  and  the  promise  of 
generous  support  from  certain  interested  friends,  a 
subscription  paper  was  started  in  January,  1899,  to 
secure  pledges  for  $100,000. 

When  this  sum  had  been  secured  by  March,  1899, 
a  Building  Committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of 
Francis  Louis  Slade,  Chairman  ;  William  M.  Kings- 
ley,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  ;  Robert  W.  de  Forest, 
Charles  H.  Ludington,  and  Henry  N.  Tifft. 

55 


REVIEW    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF 

After  diligent  and  fruitless  search  on  their  part  for 
some  time  for  two  suitable  adjoining  lots  in  the 
neighborhood  of  our  former  Mission,  a  specially  de- 
sirable parcel  of  land  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Third  Avenue  and  Thirtieth  Street,  approximately 
sixty  by  sixty  feet,  came  unexpectedly  into  the  market, 
owing  to  the  assignment  of  its  owner,  and,  after  due 
consultation  over  the  additional  expense  which  would 
be  necessarily  incurred  in  purchasing  this  large  piece 
of  property,  the  Building  Committee  decided  to  buy 
this  land  for  the  sum  of  $64,000,  which  sum,  under 
the  circumstances,  was  considered  a  very  favorable 
figure. 

Messrs.  Howells  &  Stokes  were  selected  as  archi- 
tects, and  on  account  of  their  special  interest  in  this 
kind  of  work,  devoted  themselves  most  whole-heart- 
edly to  the  arrangement  of  all  the  details  necessary 
for  our  special  kinds  of  work. 

The  three  old  tenements  occupying  these  lots  were 
torn  down,  and  work  on  the  excavation  and  building 
was  commenced  in  the  first  week  of  July,  1900,  Mr. 
Charles  T.  Wills  being  the  general  contractor.  As 
no  special  obstacles  were  encountered,  the  building 
progressed  rapidly,  so  that  by  the  time  winter  set  in, 
it  was  roofed  over. 

The  Church  House  contains  the  following  rooms, 
arranged  to  meet  our  special  requirements.  On  the 
ground  floor,  facing  the   main  entrance,  is  the  audi- 

56 


THE    MADISON    SQUARE    CHURCH    HOUSE 

torium,  where  our  daily  evening  gospel  meetings  are 
held,  and  where  is  also  conducted  an  employment 
bureau  in  the  morning,  the  Helping  Hand  Tuesday 
afternoons.  Miss  Parker's  children's  meetings  other 
afternoons,  and  any  other  special  meetings  or  enter- 
tainments. On  either  side  of  the  main  entrance  are 
the  two  Superintendents'  offices.  On  the  second 
floor  is  a  large  kindergarten  room  ;  a  corner  room 
used  for  Bible  Classes ;  the  Creche,  the  Medical 
Clinic,  etc.,  and  the  Consultation  Room,  where  the 
Trustees  have  their  meetings,  and  where  informal 
conferences  are  constantly  held.  On  the  third  floor, 
along  the  entire  front  of  the  building,  is  a  library  and 
reading  room.  On  this  same  floor  are  also  the  taste- 
fully furnished  Girls'  Club  rooms  and  class-rooms  ; 
a  Boys'  Club  room,  and  women's  bath-room.  On 
the  top  floor  is  a  modest  gymnasium,  with  dressing 
room  and  shower  baths  adjoining ;  and  separated 
from  this,  are  quarters  for  the  resident  workers, 
arranged  like  a  modern  flat.  On  the  roof  is  a  roof- 
garden  or  playground  for  children.  In  the  basement, 
the  Working  Men's  League  has  a  large  room,  which 
is  open  all  the  time  for  its  members ;  a  Boys'  Club 
room,  and,  off  it,  a  room  for  manual  training  and 
carpentry  ;  the  janitor's  quarters  ;  heating  plant,  etc. 
Toilet  rooms  are  provided  on  each  floor,  except  the 
first.  The  entire  building  is  fire-proof,  and  was  con- 
structed of  the  best  materials,  which  resulted,  however, 

SI 


REVIEW    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF 


in  the  expenditure  for  land,  building  and  furnishings, 
of  a  total  sum  amounting  approximately  to  $150,000. 
The  additional  money  required  was  raised  in  two  later 
special  subscriptions,  largely  from  the  same  contribu- 
tors, the  final  sum  being  paid  out  of  the  Easter  col- 
lection of  April  1 2th,  1903.  The  property  is  now 
free  and  clear  of  all  indebtedness. 

The  building  was  completed  and  turned  over  by 
the  Building  Committee  on  March  30th,  1901,  to  the 
following  Board  of  Trustees  : 

Dr.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  Henry  N.  Tifft,  Robert 
W.  de  Forest,  Eugene  Delano,  William  M.  Kingsley, 
Arthur  C.  James,  William  C.  Stuart,  E.  C.  Bodman, 
and  Francis  Louis  Slade,  who  had  been  designated 
in  the  articles  of  incorporation  as  the  first  Trustees  ; 
the  incorporation  having  taken  place  on  the  19th  day 
of  December,  1900,  with  the  following  gentlemen  as 
incorporators :  D.  Willis  James,  Henry  N.  Tifft, 
William  M.  Kingsley,  Robert  W.  de  Forest,  Henry 
M.  Humphrey,  J.  H.  C.  Nevius,  Henry  V.  Parsell, 
Eugene  Delano,  Arthur  C.  James,  Edward  C.  Bod- 
man, Dr.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  John  S.  Kennedy, 
William  C.  Stuart,  Charles  H.  Ludington,  and 
Francis  Louis  Slade. 

The  acceptance  of  the  building  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  its  formal  devotement  to  Christian 
uses,  was  occasion  of  a  large  gathering  of  our  church 
people  and  of  those   interested  in   the  work,  on  the 

S8 


THE    MADISON    SQUARE    CHURCH    HOUSE 


ESSE  F.  Forbes, 

Adams  Memorial  Church. 


evening  of  March  30th,  1901,  when  the  building  was 
thrown  open  for  inspection.  The  services  on  the 
occasion  consisted  of  : 

Reading  of  Scripture i  ^^^-  J^^' 

i      Pastor  of 

Prayer i  ^^°-  ^-  Hilton, 

I       Superintendent  of  the  Gospel  work. 

Transfer  of  Building  to  Board  j  Francis  Louis  Slade, 

of    Trustees I         Chairman  of  Building  Committee. 

A  .  r  r>      r  J-  (  ROBERT    W.     DE    FoREST. 

Acceptance  of  Building ]  wo, 

I  Chairman  Board  of  Trustees. 

Brief   Address  and   Prayer  of  (  ^        ^ 

^    ,.     ^.  <  Rev.  Chas.  H.  Parkhurst. 

Dedication I 

Address Robert  W.  de  Forest. 

At  the  exercises,  held  in  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  the  auditorium  was  packed  by  an  appreciative 
audience  of  our  Third  Avenue  Mission  people. 

The  new  building  affords  healthful  accommodations 
that  are  specifically  adapted  to  each  of  the  various 
lines  of  our  work,  and  in  the  five  years  of  its  exist- 
ence only  slight  modifications  in  the  building  equip- 
ment and  in  the  arrangements  were  needed  to  meet 
satisfactorily  all  the  demands  of  our  work  ;  so  that 
we  feel  that  the  Madison  Square  Church  House  has 
fully  answered  all  the  high  expectations  of  those  who 
planned  it  and  made  its  construction  possible. 


59 


The  Present  Church 


The  Erection  of  the  New  Church 

AS  early  as  1896,  the  question  began  to  be  con- 
sidered whether,  owing  to  the  erection  and 
extension  of  the  MetropoHtan  Life  Insurance 
building  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1890,  it  would 
not  be  to  our  interest  as  a  church  to  build  elsewhere 
if  a  suitable  site  could  be  found  on  Madison  Square 
or  in  its  neighborhood.  The  rumor  having  reached 
us  that  the  Insurance  Company  was  itself  desirous  of 
securing  our  property  and  of  extending  its  building 
to  cover  the  entire  block,  a  joint  conference  of  our 
Elders  and  Trustees  was  called  to  discuss  the  situa- 
tion. This  conference  was  held  on  the  afternoon  of 
May  14th,  1894,  but  was  adjourned  to  May  21st, 
when  Mr.  D.  Willis  James  was  chosen  Chairman  and 
Mr.  William  E.  Stiger,  Clerk.  After  consultation, 
it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  we  would  not  enter- 
tain the  idea  of  "moving  uptown,"  and  the  only  ad- 
ditional action  taken  was  to  empower  the  Chairman 
to  select  one  of  the  conferees  to  make  enquiries  as 
to  whether  three  suitable  contiguous  lots  were  obtain- 
able elsewhere  on  the  Square  or  upon  some  street  or 
avenue  adjacent  thereto.  Mr.  A.  D.  Juilliard  was 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  but  as  he  was  unable  to 
serve,  Mr.  James  made  subsequent  selection  of  Mr. 

61 


THE     ERECTION     OF     THE     NEW     CHURCH 

William  C.  Sturges.  No  property  of  the  desired 
kind  was  found  obtainable  and  the  matter  rested  at 
that  point. 

Several  years  passed  during  which  the  congregation 
became  increasingly  restive  under  the  growing  en- 
croachment of  our  neighbor's  building  operations,  for 
while  we  could  not  deny  the  elegance  of  the  structure 
they  were  erecting,  it  none  the  less  on  that  account 
excluded  what  we  considered  our  fair  share  of  light 
and  air,  and  by  force  of  contrast  practically  destroyed 
the  architectural  grace  and  dignity  of  our  church. 

The  first  definite  overtures  looking  to  the  purchase 
of  our  property  and  the  sale  to  us  of  the  lots  opposite 
were  made  to  Mr.  William  C.  Sturges,  Chairman  of 
our  Board  of  Trustees,  by  a  representative  of  the 
Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company,  in  May  of 
1902.  The  matter  was  informally  considered  during 
the  season  following  and  it  was  not  until  the  autumn 
of  that  year  (1902)  that  definite  action  was  taken  in 
the  shape  of  a  conference  called  at  the  office  of  Mr. 
Sturges,  74  Wall  Street,  on  October  24th. 

At  this  conference  there  were  present  Mr.  Wm.  C. 
Sturges,  in  the  chair,  and  Messrs.  D.  Willis  James, 
John  Crosby  Brown,  Wm.  N.  Crane,  John  S.  Ken- 
nedy, E.  C.  Bodman,  F.  L.  Slade,  Ambrose  K.  Ely, 
F.  C.  Colton,  D.  T.  Warren,  R.  W.  de  Forest,  Wm. 
E.  Stiger,  Charles  T.  Kissam,  L.  L.  Stanton  and  W. 
M.  Kingsley. 

62 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


Invited  to  attend  but  not  present :  Rev.  C.  H.  Park- 
hurst,  Messrs.  C.  H.  Ludington,  A.  D.  Juilliard  and 
J.  E.  Milholland. 

Mr.  Kingsley  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
meeting. 

Mr.  Sturges  stated  that  after  several  conferences 
with  representatives  of  the  MetropoHtan  Life  Insur- 
ance Company,  the  Company  had  submitted  plans  of 
a  church  and  chapel  to  be  erected  on  lots  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Street,  inquiring  whether  the  Church  would 
accept  the  same  with  the  lots  in  exchange  for  the 
present  site  opposite ;  and  that  the  object  of  this 
conference  was  to  obtain  the  views  of  members  as 
to  the  course  to  be  pursued  and  the  response  to  be 
made. 

The  following  letter  from  Dr.  Parkhurst  was  read: 

New  York,  Oct.  21,  1902. 

133  East  35th  Street. 

My  dear  Mr.  Stiger  : 

I  thank  you  for  your  invitation  to  the  Confer- 
ence to  be  held  on  Thursday.  Unfortunately  for 
me,  however,  I  engaged  to  be  in  Massachusetts  on 
that  day  by  appointment  made  some  time  since  and 
beg  that  you  will  make  my  excuses  to  the  gentlemen 
who  may  be  present  on  that  occasion. 


63 


THE     ERECTION     OF    THE     NEW     CHURCH 

In  view  of  my  profound  interest  in  the  matter 
that  is  to  be  considered  at  that  time,  shall  I  be  too 
presuming  if  I  express  to  you  my  opinion  on  three 
points  as  follows  : 

1.  If  men  like  those  who  are  to  participate  in  the 
Conference  are  substantially  of  one  mind  in  regard  to 
the  matter  in  question,  they  can  rely  undoubtedly 
upon  the  concurrence  of  the  congregation  and  need 
not  spend  very  much  time  in  getting  a  census  oi 
opinion  before  making  an  initial  move. 

2.  The  congregation,  through  a  properly  consti- 
tuted committee,  should  have  the  charge  of  church 
erection  and  not  leave  it  in  any  manner  in  the  hands 
of  the  Metropolitan  Insurance  Company. 

3.  Although  that  Company  is  anxious  to  become 
possessed  of  our  lot,  and  although  we  have  pretty 
effectively  'cornered'  them,  yet  it  would  be  unfortu- 
nate to  lose  the  present  chance  of  bettering  ourselves 
by  imposing  upon  them  extreme  or  inflexible  condi- 
tions more  strenuous  than  they  could  be  brought  to 
concede  to. 

Anticipating  a  favorable  issue  of  the  Conference, 

'  Yours  very  sincerely, 

(Signed)     C.  H.  Parkhurst. 

After  general   discussion,   Mr.   Stiger  offered   the 
following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  a  proposition  to  exchange  the  prop- 
erty belonging  to  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian 

64 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


Church  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Madison  Avenue 
and  Twenty-fourth  Street  for  the  property  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Street,  together  with  an  amount  in  cash  suffi- 
cient to  properly  erect  and  equip  a  suitable  church 
edifice  and  chapel  thereon  with  a  reasonable  amount 
for  church  purposes,  would  be  favorably  received 
and  recommended  to  the  congregation  for  favorable 
action. 

Resolved  further,  That  a  committee  of  five  be 
appointed  by  the  Chairman  of  this  meeting,  the 
Chairman  to  be  one  of  such  committee,  to  formulate 
the  terms  upon  which  such  exchange  would  be  ap- 
proved and  recommended  for  action,  and  that  such 
committee  be  authorized  to  conduct  such  negotia- 
tions relative  to  the  matter  as  may  be  necessary. 

The  resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Stanton,  and 
after  further  discussion  was  adopted  unanimously. 
The  meeting  adjourned. 

W.   M.    KiNGSLEY, 

Secretary. 

The  above-mentioned  committee,  constituted  as 
ordered  by  the  Conference,  consisted  of  Mr.  William 
C.  Sturges,  Chairman,  and  Messrs.  D.  Willis  James, 
John  Crosby  Brown,  William  E.  Stiger  and  John  S. 
Kennedy. 

As  a  result  of  the  conference  between  representa- 
tives of  the  Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company 
and  the  committee  appointed  to  represent  the  Madi- 

65 


THE     ERECTION     OF     THE     NEW     CHURCH 

son  Square  Presbyterian  Church,  the  following  action 
was  taken  at  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  said 
church,  held  January  23,  1903: 

Resolved,  That  a  Special  Corporate  Meeting  of  the 
Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church  be  held  in  the 
Church  on  Monday,  February  2d,  1903,  at  4:30  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  and 
acting  upon  a  proposition  to  sell  and  convey  the 
property  of  the  said  church,  situated  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  Street, 
in  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  City  of  New  York, 
and  to  acquire,  in  part  payment  therefor,  the  prop- 
erty situated  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Madison 
Avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  Street,  in  the  Borough 
of  Manhattan,  City  of  New  York;  and,  if  such  sale  be 
approved  and  consented  to,  to  authorize  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  this  church  to  execute  and  deliver  all 
necessary  contracts  and  other  instruments  in  writing 
and  to  take  all  such  measures  as  may  be  proper  to 
consummate  such  sale;  and  further,  if  such  sale  be 
approved,  to  consider  and  take  action  upon  a  prop- 
osition to  erect  a  church  edifice  and  chapel  on  the 
said  property,  so  to  be  acquired  as  aforesaid;  and  to 
take  such  further  or  other  action  in  relation  to  the 
premises  as  may  be  deemed  necessary. 

Notice  of  such  special  corporate  meeting  was  read 
from  the  pulpit  on  the  two  following  Sabbaths,  and 
the  meeting  was  li^ld  in  the  Lecture  Room  of  the 
church,  February  2d,  at  4:30  o'clock.  It  was  called 
to  order  by  Mr.  William   N.  Crane,  who  nominated 

66 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


as  Chairman  Mr.  William  C.  Sturges,  who  was  duly 
elected.  Mr.  William  M.  Kingsley  was  elected 
Secretary.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Dr.  Parkhurst. 
Resolutions,  giving  the  consent  of  the  corporation  to 
the  sale  of  the  property  of  the  church  situated  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Street,  to  the  Metropolitan  Life  Insurance 
Company  in  consideration  of  the  conveying  to  the 
corporation  of  the  property  situated  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  Street 
and  the  payment  of  the  sum  of  $325,000  cash,  were 
offered  by  Mr.  Ezra  M.  Kingsley,  who  moved  their 
adoption.  (This  was  the  last  public  service  rendered 
by  our  respected  and  beloved  friend,  Mr.  Ezra  M. 
Kingsley.) 

The  above  motion  having  been  seconded,  letters 
were  read  from  Mr.  D.  Willis  James  and  Mr.  John 
Crosby  Brown  in  which  was  expressed  their  hearty 
approval  of  the  proposed  sale,  after  which  the  reso- 
lutions proposed  by  Mr.  Kingsley  were  unanimously 
adopted. 

Resolutions  in  the  following  terms,  providing  for 
the  erection  of  a  new  church  edifice,  were  offered  by 
Mr.  Frederic  C.  Colton,  which  were  seconded  and 
adopted : 

Whereas,  This  corporation  has  given  its  assent  to 
the  sale  and  conveyance  of  its  property  situated  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty- 

67 


THE  ERECTION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

fourth  Street,  in  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  to  the 
Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company  in  consider- 
ation of  the  sum  of  Three  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  ($325,000)  in  cash  and  the  convey- 
ance to  this  corporation  of  the  property  situated  at 
the  northeast  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Street,  in  said  Borough ;  the  dimensions 
thereof  being  about  seventy-four  (74)  feet  on  Madi- 
son Avenue  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  (150)  feet 
on  Twenty-fourth  Street ;  and 

Whereas,  The  said  northeast  corner  of  Madison 
Avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  Street  is  an  admirable 
location  for  a  church,  and  is  well  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  this  corporation  ;  and  it  is  deemed 
eminently  desirable  that  this  church  shall  remain  in 
the  section  of  the  city,  where,  for  nearly  fifty  years, 
it  has  stood  as  a  power  for  righteousness  ;  and 

Whereas,  The  New  York  Presbytery  has  duly  ap- 
proved of  said  new  location  : 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  resolved.  That  upon  title  being 
acquired  to  the  said  property  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  Madison  Avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  Street,  this 
corporation  do  proceed,  without  unnecessary  delay, 
to  erect  thereon  a  church  edifice  and  chapel  of  suit- 
able character  and  dimensions,  and  to  furnish  and 
equip  the  same  ;  and 

Be  it  further  resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees  that,  in  appointing  a  Building 
Committee,  they  include  among  the  members  thereof 

68 


Rk\.     lESbE    ¥.     FORHES,     I'H.l). 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


the  following-named  gentlemen :  Messrs.  John  Crosby 
Brown,  D.  Willis  James,  John  S.  Kennedy,  William 
M.  Kingsley  and  Louis  C.  Tiffany. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  held  three  days 
later,  namely,  February  5th,  the  Chairman  and  Clerk 
of  the  Board  were  authorized,  conditional  upon  the 
approval  of  the  sale  by  the  Supreme  Court,  to  make 
and  execute  all  contracts  and  other  instruments  in 
writing  and  to  take  all  such  measures  as  might  be 
necessary  and  proper  to  consummate  the  sale. 

The  Building  Committee  as  finally  organized  was 
composed  as  follows  : — 

Edward  C.   Bodman,   Chairman 
William  M.    Kingsley,    Vice-Chairman 
Francis  L.  Slade,  Secretary  a?id  Treasurer 

John  Crosby  Brown  John  S.  Kennedy 

Robert  W.  de  Forest         Charles  H.   Parkhurst 
D.  Willis  James  William  E.  Stiger 

Arthur  C.  James  William  C.  Sturges 

Louis  C.   Tiffany 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Building  Committee  was 
held  at  No.  72  Wall  Street  on  April  7th,  1903,  at 
which  was  effected  a  permanent  organization  as 
stated  above. 

The  following-named  gentlemen  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  consider  the  selection  of  an  architect 
and  report  at  a  later  meeting  of  the  general  com- 

69 


THE    ERECTION    OF    THE    NEW    CHURCH 

mittee  : — Messrs.  R.  W.  de  Forest,  L.  C.  Tiffany, 
Arthur  C.  James,  E.  C.  Bodman,  ex-officio,  to  which 
was  added  at  a  subsequent  meeting  Rev.  C.  H. 
Parkhurst. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  said  committee  held  three 
weeks  later,  that  is,  April  28th,  Mr.  de  Forest,  as 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  recom- 
mend an  architect,  submitted  a  very  full  report 
recommending  the  selection  of  McKim,  Mead  and 
White,  with  a  statement  of  the  reasons  for  such 
choice. 

The  further  report  of  said  committee  on  architec- 
ture and  plans,  submitted  at  a  meeting  of  the  full 
Board  on  May  28th,  was  to  the  effect  that  conference 
had  been  had  with  Messrs.  McKim,  Mead  and  White, 
that  said  firm  of  architects  had  acceded  to  the 
proposition  made  them,  with  an  agreement  to  pre- 
pare plans  for  the  new  church  under  the  terms  speci- 
fied, with  the  understanding  that  the  sum  which  the 
church  could  expend  did  not  exceed  $325,000.  Mr. 
White  then  came  before  the  committee  and  sub- 
mitted a  general  scheme  of  construction,  the  elements 
of  which  were  a  bold  portico  and  front,  a  dome 
above,  the  exterior  materials  to  be  brick  and  terra- 
cotta and  the  columns  of  marble  and  granite,  which 
scheme    in    its   main   features  was   approved   by  the 


Building  Committee. 


70 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


The  committee  met  again  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1904,  and  at  that  time  a  committee  of  three  consist- 
ing of  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Messrs.  A.  C.  James,  WilHam 
M.  Kingsley,  with  Mr.  E.  C,  Bodman  as  ex-officio 
member,  was  appointed  to  report  on  an  organ  for 
the  new  edifice  and  given  power  to  sell  our  present 
ororan  and  church  furniture. 

The  Organ  Committee  reported  to  the  general 
committee  on  March  7th,  recommending  the  accept- 
ance of  the  specification  by  the  Hutchings-Votey 
Organ  Co.,  which  recommendation  was  accepted  by 
the  committee.  At  this  later  meeting  an  executive 
committee  was  on  motion  appointed,  consisting  of 
the  Chairman  and  Messrs.  Kingsley,  A.  C.  James, 
F.  L.  Slade  and  Dr.  Parkhurst,  with  full  power  to 
act  and  for  the  special  purpose  of  having  oversight 
of  the  building  contracts. 

On  May  25th,  1904,  the  committee  accepted  the 
building  contracts  drawn  by  McKim,  Mead  &  White 
and  accepted  by  Mr.  Wills,  builder,  and  authorized 
its  execution. 


(At  this  date,  September  28th,  1906,  the  building 
is  nearly  completed,  and  notice  has  been  given  of  its 
Dedication,  October  14th,  1906.) 

71 


Endowment  of  the  Madison 
Square  Church 

ONE  of  the  most  serious  difficulties  to  which  all 
churches  situated  below  Forty-second  Street 
are  now  or  soon  will  be  subjected  is  the  up- 
town drift  of  our  city  population.  If  all  those  migrat- 
ing left  part  of  their  church  loyalty  and  church  money 
behind  them,  the  strain  upon  the  down-town  churches 
would  be  less  severe,  but  a  considerable  element  of 
them  take  all  their  ecclesiastical  affections  and  funds 
with  them,  and  leave  their  church  home  to  do  the 
best  it  can  under  reduced  conditions.  It  was  in  view 
of  this  situation  that  a  number  of  years  ago  the  ques- 
tion was  raised  among  the  members  of  our  church  of 
creating  an  Endowment  Fund,  the  income  of  which 
should  be  availed  of  to  supplement  the  contributions 
of  existing  members,  so  enabling  the  church  to  main- 
tain itself  at  its  present  scale  of  expenditure  and  to 
have  secured  to  it  a  pledge  of  continued  activity  and 
usefulness  for  the  years  to  come. 

It  was  not,  however,  till  1897  that  the  matter 
began  to  be  seriously  considered,  but  the  disturbed 
condition  incident  to  the  Spanish-American  war  of 
the  year  following  rendered  necessary  the  postpone- 
ment of  definite  action.     At  the  close  of  the  war  and 

73 


ENDOWMENT    OF    THE    MADISON     SQUARE     CHURCH 

early  in  1900,  the  matter  was  again  taken  up  in  a 
conference  held  at  the  residence  of  the  late  Marcellus 
Hartley  and  participated  in  by  Messrs.  Hartley,  D. 
Willis  James  and  Dr.  Parkhurst.  At  this  conference 
there  was  entire  agreement  as  to  the  necessity  for 
such  endowment,  the  only  question  being  as  to  the 
best  means  of  its  accomplishment.  Subsequently  a 
conference  was  held  at  the  residence  of  D.  Willis 
James,  Esq.,  at  which  were  present  Messrs.  James, 
John  Crosby  Brown,  William  E.  Stiger  and  Dr.  Park- 
hurst. It  was  then  determined  that  the  time  was 
opportune  for  action  and  it  was  agreed  that  no  less 
a  sum  than  $200,000  should  be  raised  for  the  purpose. 
An  appeal  and  subscription  paper  were  accordingly 
prepared  and  circulated  ;  the  contract  by  which  sub- 
scribers bound  themselves  containing,  among  others, 
these  four  express  conditions  : 

First  :  That  the  said  Fund  so  constituted  shall  be  set  apart 
and  forever  appropriated  as  a  fund  to  be  known  as  the  "  Per- 
manent Endowment  Fund  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Madison 
Square  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City  of  New  York." 

Second:  That  the  said  Fund  shall  be  kept  safely  and 
securely  invested  and  that  the  income  thereof,  but  only  the 
income  thereof,  shall  be  applied  to  the  support  and  mainte- 
nance of  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  according  to  its 
corporate  uses  and  purposes,  or  to  the  Support  and  Mainte- 
nance of  any  Corporation  of  which  it  shall  form  a  part  by 
means  of  consolidation. 

74 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Third:  That  the  principal  of  said  Fund  shall  forever  be 
kept  inviolate  and  shall  not  at  any  time  hereafter  be  expended 
or  appropriated  for  any  purpose  whatever. 

Fourth:  In  case  the  said  The  Trustees  of  the  Madison 
Square  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City  of  New  York,  shall  at 
any  time  cease  to  exist,  or  shall  remove  from  that  portion  of  the 
Borough  of  Manhattan  lying  South  of  the  middle  line  of  what 
are  now  known  as  East  and  West  Forty-second  Streets,  then 
and  in  that  event,  inasmuch  as  the  purposes  for  which  the  said 
Fund  will  have  been  constituted  will  be  impossible  of  accom- 
plishment, all  estate,  right,  title,  interest  and  claim  of  the 
said  The  Trustees  of  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  City  of  New  York,  in  and  to  said  Fund  and  to  each  and 
every  part  thereof,  shall  immediately  cease  and  determine  and 
the  said  The  Trustees  of  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  City  of  New  York,  shall  forthwith  pay  over  the 
said  Fund  and  each  and  every  part  thereof  to  the  Presbyterian 
Hospital  in  the  City  of  New  York  and  the  same  shall  there- 
upon be  and  become  the  absolute  property  of  the  said  Presby- 
terian Hospital  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  to  it  we  and 
each  of  us  give  the  same. 

The  action  thus  unofficially  taken  was,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  this  church  held  January 
1 6th,  1 90 1,  formally  approved,  responsibility  for  the 
safe-guarding  of  the  funds  assumed  by  the  Trustees, 
and  Mr.  William  C.  Sturges,  Chairman  of  the  Board, 
and  Mr.  William  E.  Stiger,  Clerk  of  the  same,  ap- 
pointed a  special  committee  to  take  entire  charge  of 
and  invest  the  moneys  contributed  toward,  and  con- 
stituting the  Fund. 

7S 


ENDOWMENT    OF    THE    MADISON     SQUARE    CHURCH 

According  to  the  report  made  to  the  Trustees, 
March  13th,  1902,  by  the  special  committee  having 
the  matter  in  charge,  the  total  subscription  as  of  that 
date,  together  with  the  accrued  interest  amounted  to 
$167,910.70. 

On  the  morning  of  Easter  Sunday,  April  12th, 
1903,  an  appeal  was  made  for  an  offering  of  $40,000 
of  which  $15,000  should  be  used  in  discharging  the 
mortgage  indebtedness  on  the  Church  House  and 
the  balance  applied  to  the  Endowment  Fund.  The 
amount  of  the  offering  was  $42,545.56,  from  which 
subtracting  the  aforesaid  $15,000  there  remained  a 
balance  of  $27,545.65  to  be  added  to  the  Endowment 
Fund. 

On  the   ist  of  January,  1905,   the  gross  amount 
of    contributions    towards    Endowment    re- 
ceived up  to  that  date  was    $189,795.56 

The  amount  of  accrued  interest  to  that  date  was         27,543.93 
The  grand  total  as  of  January  ist,  1905,  being    $217,339.49 


76 


The  pages  which  follow  are  devoted  to  a 
brief  account  of  some  of  the  lines  of  work 
that  are  being  prosecuted  either  on  the  Square 
or  at  Third  Avenue. 


The  Ladies'  Association 

THE  Ladies'  Association  was  formed  in  1882, 
and  organized  in  the  election  of  Mrs.  C.  H. 
Parkhurst,  President;  Mrs.  C.  H.  Ludington, 
Vice-President;  Mrs.  Martha  J.  Lamb,  Secretary.  Its 
object,  as  expressed  in  Article  2  of  its  Constitution, 
is  "  to  unite  the  interests  of  the  several  charitable 
organizations  maintained  by  the  ladies  of  this  church; 
to  widen  the  influence  and  usefulness  of  these  organ- 
izations by  extending  a  knowledge  of  their  work  and 
interest ;  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  those  ladies 
whose  interest  is  not  already  enlisted  ;  to  welcome 
strangers  and  cultivate  social  intercourse  among 
members  of  the  church  and  congregation  ;  and,  as 
opportunity  may  suggest,  to  devise  new  lines  of 
work."  Of  the  twenty-five  original  officers  and 
managers,  nine  are  still  on  the  list. 

The  five  societies  already  actively  at  work  in  the 
church  and  combined  to  form  the  association  were, 
the  Home  Missionary  Society,  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  Employment  Society,  Industrial  School  and 
Band  of  Ministering  Children. 

During  the  first  year  of  its  organization,  the  Loan 
Relief  Society  was  formed,  making  six,  whose  record 
of  work  was  included  in  the  first  annual  report  of 
the  Ladies'  Association  at  the  close  of  the  winter  of 
1883. 

79 


THE    LADIES      ASSOCIATION 


Among  those  who  were  officers  of  the  several 
societies  at  that  time,  occur  the  names  of  Mrs. 
William  H.  Wickham,  Mrs.  William  Dowd,  Mrs. 
Mary  Hartley  Brown,  Mrs.  William  H.  Barbour,  Mrs. 
A.  B.  Wetmore,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Patterson,  Mrs.  F.  E. 
Fairchild,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Eno,  Mrs.  A.  D.  Juilliard,  Mrs. 
J.  E.  Byrne,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Pratt,  Miss  Helen  Barney, 
Mrs.  Frances  P.  Freeman,  Mrs.  Arthur  B.  Graves, 
Mrs.  Charles  S.  Spencer,  Mrs.  N.  A.  Coudrey.  Sev- 
eral of  these  names  we  find  still  among  the  working 
force  of  the  organization,  while  many  others  have 
passed  on  to  the  field  of  larger  opportunity. 

The  Home  Missionary  Society  at  that  time  re- 
ported contributions  amounting  to  $583,  used  in  fit- 
ting out  boxes  for  Home  Missionaries,  and  in  the 
erection  of  a  church  building  in  Indian  Territory. 
In  1905  this  amount  had  grown  to  $1,662. 

The  Foreign  Missionary  Society  announced  their 
gifts  as  then  amounting  to  $355,  which  sum  was 
applied  to  the  salary  of  Miss  Bushnell  in  Africa,  and 
to  the  maintenance  of  hospital  beds  at  Ooroomiah, 
Persia.  This  present  year  the  treasurer's  report 
shows  $4,125,  which  is  employed  in  paying  the  sal- 
aries of  six  missionaries,  contributing  to  the  general 
fund  and  to  scholarship  and  educational  work. 

The  Employment  Society  reported  thirty-four 
women  employed  and  about  $300  received  from  sub- 
scriptions.      Nineteen    hundred    and    five    showed 

80 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


seventy-six  women  given  work,  whose  pay  was  made 
up  from  an  appropriation  of  $850  from  the  Church 
Budget. 

The  Industrial  School  was  carried  on  in  the  Adams 
Memorial  Church  at  small  expense  by  individual 
subscriptions.  There  were  113  children  on  the  roll 
and  twenty-two  regular  teachers,  which  is  an  advance 
over  the  present  conditions  in  the  Sewing  School  at 
the  Church  House. 

The  Band  of  Ministering  Children  was  forme  1  in 
November,  1882,  and  made  an  excellent  showing  at 
the  end  of  the  winter,  in  having  a  sale  from  which 
was  realized  over  $500,  to  be  used  for  Fresh  Air 
work  and  in  other  offices  for  poor  and  sick  children 
of  the  East  Side. 

In  1883  the  Loan  Relief  Society  was  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  lending  a  helping  hand  to  those 
requiring  assistance,  it  being  understood  that  some 
equivalent  return  should  be  made  for  help  rendered. 
The  working  capital  of  nearly  $500  was  subscribed, 
which  has  been  turned  over  and  over  each  year  since 
the  formation  of  the  society.  This  was  used  for  the 
purchase  of  coal  at  a  minimum  price,  and  for  its 
re-sale  to  the  people  of  the  Adams  Memorial  Church 
and  Mission  at  the  same  rate  ;  also  for  loaning  small 
sums  under  guarantee  of  repayment.  Other  depart- 
ments of  the  Loan  Relief  Society  work  were  Visita- 
tion,  Legal   Aid  and   Medical   Aid,  with   a  staff  of 

81 


THE     LADIES      ASSOCIATION 


physicians  who  volunteered  their  service.  These 
latter  lines  were  prosecuted  until  there  seemed  no 
farther  necessity  for  them,  and  the  Coal  Club  now 
remains  as  epitomizing  the  Loan  Relief  Society,  and 
continues  its  splendid  work  in  the  interest  of  our  East 
Side  people. 

The  summing  up  of  the  financial  statements  of 
the  societies  combined  in  the  Association  in  1883, 
amounted  to  $1,763,  not  including  the  working 
capital  of  the  Loan  Relief  Society.  Nineteen  hun- 
dred and  five  showed  an  aggregate  of  very  nearly 
$13,000. 

In  1884  the  McAll  Mission  to  France  was  for  the 
first  time  represented  in  the  Association  by  man- 
agers, and,  in  1891,  the  Union  Missionary  Society 
and  the  Woman's  Branch  of  City  Missions. 

Since  the  Association  was  formed  in  1882,  several 
societies  have  had  an  existence  of  a  longer  or  shorter 
duration.  As,  for  example,  the  Mothers'  Association, 
which  was  formed  to  aid  young  mothers  of  our  own 
congregation  in  the  bringing  up  of  their  children. 
In  the  same  year  was  formed  the  Band  of  Christian 
Workers  from  among  the  children  of  the  church. 
Two  years  later  the  Family  Visitation  Society  came 
into  existence,  and  for  several  years  was  of  great 
service  to  our  Church  House  workers,  in  keeping 
church  and  mission  families  in  close  touch  with  each 
other   and    in    finding    employment    for    the    needy 

82 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


through  the  Information  Bureau.  In  1895  the  Help- 
ing Hand  was  received  into  our  organization.  It, 
too,  had  had  an  individual  existence  since  1889. 

The  first  report  of  the  Junior  Guild  bears  the  date 
of  1896,  though  giving  evidence  of  previous  exist- 
ence. It  was  composed  of  young  ladies  of  the 
church,  and  had  a  three-fold  object, — City,  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions.  The  Church  House  was  the  im- 
mediate field  of  city  work,  and  brought  its  members 
and  our  East  Side  work  into  closer  relations  than 
before.  The  Needle  Work  Guild  devotes  itself  to 
securing  and  distributing  garments  for  the  needy 
poor,  and  is  represented  in  the  Association  in  its 
report  of  1898,  as  were  shortly  after,  the  Kinder- 
garten and  the  Children's  Sewing  School. 

The  Family  Visitation  Society,  as  such,  has  dis- 
banded, but  its  work  is,  in  some  of  its  departments, 
still  maintained  in  the  Information  Bureau,  and  the 
visiting  of  families,  while  not  reported,  is  carried  on 
by  individuals,  under  the  leadership  of  Miss  Haines. 

The  Junior  Guild  has  become  the  Junior  Associa- 
tion, giving  its  entire  energies  to  various  phases  of 
work  in  the  Church  House.  A  trained  nurse  is  un- 
der its  care  ;  it  provides  the  Christmas  tree  for  the 
children  ;  it  also  maintains  a  club  and  classes  for 
young  girls,  and  is  altogether  a  most  valuable  auxili- 
ary to  the  spiritual  work  of  the  Madison  Square 
Church  House. 


83 


THE     LADIES      ASSOCIATION 


The  Prospect  Hill  Working  Girls'  Club  was 
opened  in  1886.  Previous  to  that  time  attempts  had 
been  made,  but  unsuccessfuly,  to  hold  together  the 
working  girls  of  the  East  Side  in  a  club.  The  present 
organization  only  dates  back  to  1889.  It  was  formed 
and  carried  on  for  many  years  by  members  of  our 
church,  but  the  older  members  of  the  club  have  more 
and  more  assumed  the  responsibility,  until,  at  the 
present  time,  it  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  work- 
ing girls  themselves. 

Up  to  the  year  1886,  each  society  had  used  its  own 
separate  method  for  collecting  funds ;  the  church 
was  partially  canvassed  for  each  cause.  In  that  year, 
a  plan  for  combined  effort  was  devised  by  the  Home 
and  Foreign  Mission  Societies.  The  church  was 
districted,  collectors  supplied  from  our  own  members 
and  a  systematic  canvass  of  the  whole  congregation 
effected.  The  result  was  eminently  successful,  in- 
creasing the  amounts  received  for  each  of  the  causes. 
Previous  to  that  the  managers  for  the  French  work 
in  Paris,  called  the  McAll  Mission,  had  canvassed 
the  church  in  much  the  same  way.  Subsequently, 
in  consultation  with  the  officers  of  the  three  above- 
named  societies  and  the  representatives  of  the 
Women's  Branch  of  City  Missions,  a  combined  can- 
vass was  decided  upon,  which  has  been  in  operation 
to  this  date,  1906. 


84 


T^ 


The  Employment  Society 

HE  beginning  of  the  Employment  Society 
■  takes  us  almost  as  far  back  as  the  beginning 
of  the  Mission  Sunday-school,  from  which 
came  the  Adams  Memorial  Church.  During  the  Civil 
War,  many  of  the  ladies  of  the  church  co-operated  in 
making  garments  for  the  soldiers.  It  seems  to  have 
been  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the 
father  of  the  present  President,  that  this  work  of 
patriotism  could  be  combined  with  the  Mission  work, 
and  he  interested  the  ladies  of  the  church  in  provid- 
ing sewing  for  the  wives  and  the  sisters  of  the  men 
who  had  gone  into  the  army.  Out  of  this  interest 
grew  the  Employment  Society,  among  whose  prime 
movers  were  Mrs.  Bixby,  Mrs.  Ely,  Miss  Oilman, 
Mrs.  Lyon,  Mrs.  Martin  and  Mrs.  William  Wells. 
Each  member  contributed  fifteen  dollars,  enough  to 
pay  for  the  work  of  one  woman  during  the  season. 

The  work  was  given  out  every  week  from  the 
Mission  Chapel  on  Third  Avenue,  and  each  woman 
on  returning  the  work  that  had  been  given  her  re- 
ceived fifty  cents  (afterward  increased  to  seventy- 
five  cents).  During  the  war  all  the  garments  and 
sheets  made  were  given  to  the  army.  After  the  war 
the  garments  were  as  far  as  possible  sold.  A  report 
made  in  1890,  speaking  of  those  days  says  :     "  Many 

8s 


THE     EMPLOYMENT     SOCIETY 


of  these  women  were  from  the  very  poor  and  most 
of  their  work  was  badly  done,  therefore  unsalable 
and  had  to  be  given  away.  This  was  especially  dis- 
couraging, as  the  material  used  was  then  forty  cents 
per  yard,  and  the  few  ladies  who  were  active  in  the 
society  labored  diligently  to  cut  and  prepare  the  sew- 
ing for  the  fifty  women  then  employed.  .  .  .  The 
society  was  re -organized  in  1872,  and  a  little  book  of 
by-laws  published.  For  these  items  of  interest  we 
are  indebted  to  our  president,  Mrs.  Bixby,  who  has 
filled  that  position  most  faithfully  ever  since  the 
formation  of  the  society  nearly  thirty  years  ago." 

Another  account  says  :  "  The  wife  of  the  janitor 
used  to  sell  some  garments  during  the  week,  and  at 
one  time  women  peddlers  came  to  get  clothes  which 
they  could  carry  from  house  to  house,  a  relief  to  our 
crowded  shelves,  but  not  altogether  pleasant  to  deal 
with.  ...  I  remember  expeditions  down  town  to 
purchase  goods,  several  pieces  at  a  time  from  Lathrop 
&  Ludington,  and  having  great  bundles  sent  to  our 
house  to  be  distributed  among  the  cutters.  My 
mother  was  sometimes  one  of  them  ;  Mrs.  Bogert 
another,  a  tall  Mrs.  Collins  another,  and  Mrs.  Slade, 
who  was  by  no  means  tall.  This  gave  us  patterns  of 
various  sizes.  Miss  J.  L.  Daggett  was,  I  think,  an- 
other. Some  of  the  garments  were  cut  at  the  rooms, 
but  that  was  distracting,  when  work  must  be  received 
and  inspected  and  paid  for  and  a  fresh  supply  given 

86 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


out  at  the  same  time.  Mrs.  William  G.  Lyon  was 
another  cutter.  Mrs.  D.  Willis  James  used  to  come 
and  help  wind  thread  to  put  with  the  bundles  of 
work,  and  Bella  Jones  worked  there  with  me." 

In  still  another  account  we  are  told:  "At  that 
time  and  indeed  for  many  years  after,  even  in  my 
day,  the  garments  were  so  badly  made  that  we  could 
not  sell  them  at  all.  Now  not  a  garment  goes  on 
the  shelves  that  cannot  be  sold  and  worn,  and  much 
of  the  work  is  ordered  work  by  other  charity  institu- 
tions and  hospitals,  and  by  the  women  themselves. 
.  .  .  The  weekly  coming  for  work  does  more  to  keep 
many  of  the  women  busy  and  give  them  courage 
than  anything  else  during  the  week,  as  it  is  a  real 
social  function  for  many  of  them.  We  have  many 
years  substituted  for  the  '  Pink  Ice-cream  Day'  (the 
last  Tuesday  in  March),  groceries  which  the  women 
take  home  in  baskets,  usually  about  ten  packages 
apiece,  of  the  best  and  most  economical  food  and  a 
pot  of  some  good  sauce  or  sweetmeats.  .  .  .  Dr. 
Adams  told  me  the  Employment  Society  had  done 
more  to  make  the  mission  on  Third  Avenue  possible 
than  any  one  influence  he  knew  of.  .  .  .  We  have 
tried  to  make  the  women  feel  that  it  is  a  business 
institution,  and  that  they  must  earn  what  they  get  so 
far  as  possible.  We  now  have  a  decent  lot  of  self- 
respecting  but  very  poor  women,  where,  even  in  my 
day,  they  were  a  lot  of  untidy,  irresponsible  children 

87 


THE     EMPLOYMENT     SOCIETY 


crying  if  they  did  not  get  pay  and  work,  and  many 
of  them  hardly  knowing  how  to  thread  a  needle." 

When  the  chapel  became  too  small  and  the  new 
church  on  Thirtieth  Street  was  built,  the  Employ- 
ment Society  had  become  such  an  important  part  of 
the  work  that  the  ladies  interested  were  allowed  to 
fit  up  one  room  for  their  special  use. 

Starting  from  small  beginnings  the  work  has  in- 
creased till  for  a  good  many  years  the  number  em- 
ployed has  been  between  seventy  and  eighty  each  year. 

The  society  as  at  present  organized  is  as  follows  : 

Hon.  President  President 

Mrs.  C.  H.  Patterson  Miss  Martha  E.  Woodbury 

Treasurer  Assistant-  Treasurer 

Miss  H.  B.  Woodruff  Miss  Leila  Davis 

Secretary 
Mrs.  Charles  A.  Munger 
Cashier  Assistant-Cashier 

Miss  Eleanor  L.  Woodruff  Miss  Ethel  Smith 

Superintendent  of  Work 
Miss  Julia  C.  Wells 

Assistants 
Miss  Elizabeth  Oakley        Miss  Mabel  Jones        Miss  Ross 

Superintendent  of  Sales 
Mrs.   Cowdrey-Brown 

Purchasing  Committee 
Mrs.  William  Nichols  Shaw 

Committee  on  Home  Cutting 
Mrs.  William  Brennan  Mrs.  E.  T.  Hassey 

Mrs.  F.   G.  Couch  Miss  Montsalvatge 

Mrs.  Elebash  Mrs.  S.  E.  Morrison 

Mrs.  Benj.  Griffen  Mrs.  S.  H.  Talcott 

88 


Loan  Relief  Society 

yl  T  an  informal  meeting  held  at  the  residence  of 
/-\  Mrs.  M.  H.  Brown,  May  loth,  1882,  the  Loan 
"*-  -^  Relief  Society  was  formed,  composed  of 
members  from  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian 
Church,  to  work  in  connection  with  the  Thirtieth 
Street  Memorial  Chapel. 

The  Society  was  organized  as  follows :  Mrs.  M. 
Hartley  Brown,  President,  Mrs.  William  H.  Barbour, 
Treasurer,  Miss  Grace  H.  Dodge,  Secretary.  Trus- 
tees, Rev.  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Rev.  E.  A.  Elmore,  Rev. 
Louis  Wolferz,  Mr.  W.  P.  St.  John,  Mrs.  Charles  H. 
Parkhurst,  Mrs.  William  H.  Wickham,  Mrs.  Charles 
Spencer,  Mrs.  William  Earl  Dodge,  Mrs.  O.  P.  Hub- 
bard, Mrs.  M.  J.  Lamb,  Mrs.  Harvey,  Miss  Emily 
Smith,  Mrs.  N.  A.  Cowdry,  Mrs.  Francis  Tows,  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Hubbard. 

Article  H  of  the  constitution  is  as  follows:  Its 
object  shall  be  to  devise  methods  for  assisting  the 
poor  to  help  themselves;  to  loan  money  in  small 
sums  upon  good  security  to  those  temporarily  dis- 
abled by  misfortune,  and  articles  necessary  for  the 
comfort  and  recovery  of  the  sick ;  to  supply  medical 
attendance  and  medicines  gratuitously  when  needful, 
or  to  secure  their  purchase  for  the  poor  at  a  low  rate; 
to  visit  the  sufferers  in  their  homes,  and  thoroughly 

89 


LOAN     RELIEF     SOCIETY 


investigate  into  the  nature  of  their  distresses.  Also 
to  tender  legal  aid  and  protection,  to  give  counsel 
and  advice,  and  to  help  those  who  are  oppressed  and 
defrauded. 

In  June,  by  the  advice  and  with  the  assistance  of 
Mr.  Mazet,  the  Society  was  formally  incorporated  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  Society  resolved  itself  into  several  special 
committees  of  which  the  most  important  were  the 
following : 

Visiting  Committee 
Mrs.  N.  A.  CowDRY,  Chairman 
Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Wickham  Miss  Mary  Taylor 

Miss  Susie  Lane  Rev.  E.  A.  Elmore 

Rev.  Louis  Wolferz  Mr.  Williams 

Coal  Committee 

Mrs.  Martha  J.  Lamb,  Chairman 

Mrs.  Charles  S.  Spencer  Mrs.  W.  H.  Barbour 

Rev.  Edgar  A.  Elmore  Rev.  Louis  Wolferz 

Mrs.  Thomas  H.  Hubbard 

Legal  Aid  Committee 
Robert  Mazet 

Medical  Aid 
Dr.  Clarence  E.  Beebe 
Mrs.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst 

Loan  Committee 
Mrs.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  Chairman 
Miss  Emily  Smith  Miss  Martha  J.  Lamb 

Mrs.  Charles  S.  Spencer         Rev.  E.  A,  Elmore 
Rev.   Louis  Wolferz 


90 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


A  few  extracts  are  herewith  transcribed  from  the 
Society's  first  annual  report: — 

"In  May,  the  Society  became  an  incorporated  insti- 
tution, for  the  requirements  of  the  legal  department.  .  . 

"  The  Committee  on  Coal  has  had  for  its  object  to 
enable  the  poor  to  buy  coal  as  reasonably  as  the  rich. 
To  accomplish  this  the  Committee  took  advantage 
of  the  low  price  of  coal  in  the  early  summer,  buying 
fifty  tons,  and  contracting  for  fifty  additional  tons  at 
the  same  price,  the  coal  being  allowed  to  remain  in 
the  yard  and  delivered  as  orders  were  sent.  The 
Committee  in  the  fall  were  therefore  able  to  sell 
their  coal  at  a  saving  to  the  people  of  upwards  of  one 
dollar  on  each  ton.  The  one  hundred  tons  were  ex- 
hausted by  December,  but  a  fresh  contract  was  made 
with  the  dealer  at  wholesale  rates. 

"  I  St.  A  medical  staff  was  selected,  consisting  of 
two  physicians.  2d.  The  cooperation  of  a  competent 
druggist  was  secured,  with  the  understanding  that 
all  patients  in  the  care  of  either  member  of  the  staff 
should  obtain  their  medicines  from  him  at  a  mini- 
mum cost.  .  .  .  Eight  cases  have  been  treated,  fifty- 
three  visits  made,  four  patients  discharged  cured, 
three  improved,  and  one  lost  sight  of. 

"  Twenty-five  dollars  was  appropriated  by  the 
Board  of  Management  towards  the  Loan  Depart- 
ment. Out  of  this  four  money  loans  have  been 
made,   two   towards   the   purchasing   of   sewing   ma- 


91 


LOAN    RELIEF    SOCIETY 


chines,  and  two  in  small  sums ;  and  the  loans  have 
been  repaid  promptly." 

With  the  gradual  improvement  of  the  material  con- 
dition of  the  Adams  Memorial  Church  people  less 
and  less  service  is  required  to  be  rendered  them,  and 
one  after  another  the  several  lines  of  effort  main- 
tained in  their  behalf  have  been  suspended  until  only 
that  of  the  Coal  Club  now  remains.  Of  this  latter 
department  there  has  not  only  been  no  abatement  of 
activity  but  a  steady  increase,  and  no  too  cordial 
words  can  be  spoken  in  commendation  of  the  earnest- 
ness and  fidelity  of  Mrs.  William  H.  Barbour  who 
for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  devoted  herself 
with  untiring  patience  to  the  wholesale  purchase  of 
coal  and  its  retail  among  the  members  of  the  Adams 
Memorial  Church,  and  latterly  also  among  the  attend- 
ants at  the  Church  House.  And  it  is  an  act  of  justice 
also  as  well  as  of  pleasure  to  acknowledge  our  indebt- 
edness to  Mr.  H.  L.  Herbert,  from  whom  our  purchases 
of  coal  have  from  year  to  year  been  made,  and  who 
has  not  only  dealt  with  us  fairly,  but  more  than  fairly, 
and  always  shown  himself  willing  to  put  himself  to 
inconvenience  in  our  interest  and  in  the  interest  of 
our  patrons. 

Commencing  with  the  winter  of  1882-3,  and  ter- 
minating with  the  winter  of  1904-5,  the  number  of 
tons  of  coal  sold  each  of  the  succeeding  winters  is  as 
follows: 

92 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


TONS 

1882-3 ^49 

1883-4 109 

1884-5 103 

1885-6 98 

1886-7 139 

1887-8 170 

1888-9 222 

1889-1890 161 

189O-I 133 

189I-2 151 

1892-3 209 

1893-4 182 

1894-5 185 

1895-6 175 

1896-7 203 

1897-8 158 

1898-9 165 

1899— 1900 164 

I  900- 1 222 

I9OI-2 275 

1902-3 208 

1903-4 328 

1904-5 362 

4,271  tons 

Making  a  grand  total  of  4,271  tons,  and  which 
involves  a  saving  to  our  East  Side  purchasers  of  ap- 
proximately $3,715.77,  that  is  to  say,  about  87  cents 
a  ton. 


93 


Ladies'  Visitation  Society  and  Bureau 
of  Information 

IN  the  year  1891,  a  few  ladies  of  the  Madison 
Square  Church  met  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  W.  C. 
Gulliver  to  organize  what  was  afterwards  called 
the  Ladies'  Visitation  Society. 

This  society  was  composed  of  ladies  of  the  Church 
who  volunteered  to  take  one  or  two  families  con- 
nected with  our  Mission  on  Third  Avenue  under 
their  care,  visit  them  from  time  to  time,  enquire  into 
the  needs  of  each  household,  and  give  such  aid  and 
encouragement  as  was  deemed  best. 

Monthly  meetings  were  held,  and  reports  made  by 
the  ladies,  giving  an  account  of  the  condition  in 
which  they  found  their  several  families. 

As  the  unanimous  opinion  seemed  to  be  that  the 
need  of  work  was  one  of  the  most  pressing  neces- 
sities, and  how  to  obtain  it  the  most  perplexing 
problem  for  the  tenement-house  mother  to  solve,  the 
Bureau  of  Information  was  planned  and  begun  at  the 
Church  House  during  the  following  year. 

The  object  of  the  Bureau  was  to  procure  employ- 
ment for  the  members  of  the  Mission  ;  and  all  the 
women  in  the  care  of  the  Visitation  Society  and 
others  outside  were  encouraged,  with  this  end  in 
view,  to  register  their  names  and  addresses  and  the 
kind  of  work  desired.     A  committee  of  ladies  volun- 

95 


LADIES      VISITATION     COMMITTEE 

teered  to  give  their  services  for  an  hour  or  two  each 
morning  at  the  Church  House,  to  investigate  the 
references  of  all  applicants  and  help  them  get  into 
touch  with  members  of  the  church  and  others  who 
were  in  search  of  workers.  Some  of  the  ladies  so 
connected  with  the  Bureau  during  the  early  period  of 
its  existence  were  Mrs.  Charles  Burchard,  Mrs.  W.  C. 
Gulliver,  Miss  Alice  Smith,  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Buckley. 
From  this  small  beginning  the  Bureau  has  grown, 
not  only  in  the  number  of  applicants  for  positions 
and  employers  seeking  help,  but  the  character  of  the 
work  has  also  somewhat  changed  and  expanded. 

Situations  by  the  day  are  found  and  filled  ;  a  list  of 
good  boarding  houses  and  lodging  rooms  is  kept ; 
comfortable  homes  in  the  country  are  found  for  men, 
women  and  children  ;  and  assistance  of  one  kind  or 
another  is  rendered  to  some  twelve  hundred  annually. 
The  Bureau  which  is  open  at  the  Church  House, 
432  Third  Avenue,  each  day,  except  Saturday,  from 
10  A.M.  to  12  r.M.  is  under  the  supervision  of  a  Com- 
mittee and  under  the  direct  management  of  Mrs. 
Buckley. 

The  Committee  for  the  current  year  is 

Mr.  William  N.  Crane 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst 

Mrs.  William  T.  Bridge 

Mrs.  Francis  W.  Upham 

Mrs.  Charles  D.  Wadsworth 

Mrs.  Charles  W.  Buckley 

96 


The   Fresh   Air   Work 

THE  Young  People's  Society  of  the  Madison 
Square  Presbyterian  Church,  Henry  E.  Mer- 
riam,  President,  began  the  work  of  the  Fresh 
Air  Committee  of  the  church  in  1880. 

The  work  at  that  time  was  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  the  Rev.  Henry  E.  Wilson,  co-oper- 
ating with  Mr.  S.  D.  Williams,  and  they  at  that  time 
made  up  a  small  party  of  boys,  sending  them  to  Ar- 
menia, a  small  station  on  the  Harlem  Railway. 

The  following  year  the  work  was  continued  by  the 
Young  People's  Committee,  under  the  chairmanship 
of  Dr.  Clarence  E.  Beebe,  with  the  direct  supervision 
still  in  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr. 
Williams,  and  the  work  began  to  rapidly  broaden. 

In  1882  Dr.  J.  A.  Bishop  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
work,  and  had  the  responsibility  of  placing  the  chil- 
dren at  Park  Ridge,  N.  J.,  parties  being  made  up  by 
Mr.  Wilson.  In  1886  the  work  had  grown  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  was  necessary  to  find  a  larger  outlet 
for  the  children,  and  farmers  were  found  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  Connecticut  who  were  willing  to  take  the 
parties  during  the  heated  season  ;  although  these 
places  were  more  remote,  the  Sound  trip  proved  to 
be  a  great  attraction,  and  the  work  was  continued 
most  successfully  until  Mr.  Williams'  death  in  1901. 

97 


FRESH     AIR     WORK 


After  this  date  Miss  M.  E.  Beardslee  of  the  Adams 
Memorial  Sunday  School  and  Miss  Haines  of  the 
Church  House  took  Mr.  Williams'  place,  and  the 
work  is  still  being  continued  along  the  same  lines, 
except  that  a  permanent  home  has  been  procured  at 
Fort  Montgomery  on  the  Hudson  River. 

From  1882  to  1904  the  number  of  beneficiaries  of 
the  Fresh  Air  work  was  6,150,  and  the  total  amount 
spent  for  their  summer  outings  was  $18,500.  The 
money  at  first  was  procured  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion for  this  specific  purpose  from  members  of  the 
church,  and  latterly  has  been  disbursed  by  the  Budget 
Committee. 

In  all  these  years  there  have  been  only  three  acci- 
dents, two  were  deaths  by  drowning,  and  the  other  a 
minor  accident. 


98 


The  Helping  Hand 

THE  Helping  Hand  was  started  as  a  sewing 
class  in  1889  by  Mrs.  Talbot  Olyphant  at  the 
request  of  Mrs.  Ballou,  who  preceded  Miss 
Haines  in  the  old  Church  House.  At  the  first  meet- 
ing there  were  seven  women  present  who  had  been 
gathered  together  by  Mrs.  J.  Crosby  Brown  in  some 
Mothers'  Meetings. 

She  was  at  once  joined  in  the  growing  work  by 
Mrs.  Wm.  Adams,  Mrs.  B.  deF.  Curtiss  and  Miss 
Gillet,  and  upon  her  resignation  in  1891,  Miss  Gillet 
became  the  first  Directress.  The  religious  exercises 
were  conducted  by  Mrs.  George  Wood,  now  a  mis- 
sionary in  Syria. 

The  object  of  the  Helping  Hand  has  been  to  teach 
the  mothers  of  the  Church  House  Mission  to  make 
garments  for  themselves,  to  bring  them  into  pleasant 
associations  and  give  them  one-half  hour  of  practical 
and  religious  instruction.  At  first  the  material  and 
garments  were  given  free,  but  it  was  found  better 
before  long  to  charge  one-half  the  cost  of  the  ma- 
terial. In  1889  there  were  three  classes;  there  are 
now  fifteen,  with  over  a  hundred  women  in  attend- 
ance. The  numerical  growth,  however,  is  only  a  par- 
tial indication  of  the  work  that  has  been  done.  There 
has  been  an  increasing  sense  of  the  right  and  the 

99 


THE     HELPING     HAND 


wrong  way  of  doing  things,  a  growth  in  appreciation, 
a  growth  in  uplift  and  also  spirituality. 

In  connection  with  the  growth  of  the  work  of  the 
Helping  Hand  must  be  mentioned  the  Creche. 

When  the  Helping  Hand  became  a  large  society, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  make  provision  for  the 
little  children,  too  young  to  be  left  at  home,  who 
came  with  their  mothers  and  seriously  interfered  with 
order  in  the  meetings.  In  the  winter  of  1895-6,  Miss 
Pauline  Humphrey,  Miss  Katherine  Ludington  and 
Miss  Helen  Ludington  began  entertaining  the  chil- 
dren in  the  back  room  at  the  old  Mission,  and,  when 
possible,  taught  them  kindergarten  games  and  songs. 
Miss  Pratt,  who  has  been  so  faithful  to  the  work, 
joined  it  soon  after  it  started.  After  three  years, 
some  of  the  original  workers  dropped  out,  others 
took  their  places  and  the  Creche  has  continued  and 
flourished.  The  attendance  varies  according  to 
weather,  but  there  have  often  been  as  many  as  sixty 
children,  the  majority  mere  babies,  to  be  entertained 
and  handed  back  safely  to  their  mothers  at  the  end 
of  the  afternoon. 

The  Helping  Hand  is  at  present  organized  as 
follows  : 


Miss  Alletta  Lent     . 
Mrs.  Henry  L.  Stimson  . 
Miss  E.  L.  Haines  .      .      . 
Miss  M.  A.  Walker     .      . 
Miss  Candace  C.  Stimson 

100 


First  Directress 
Second  Directress 
Third  Directress 
Secretary 
Treasurer 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


Honorary  Advisory  Committee  : 
Mrs.  C.  H.  Parkhurst  Miss  Gertrude  Gillet 

Purchasing  Committee  : 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Barbour  Mrs.  G.  M.  Decker 

Cutting  Committee  : 
Mrs.  G.  M.  Decker  Mrs.  F.  H.  Sladk 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Barbour  Miss  Heroy 

Mrs.  G.  B.  EwiNG 

Creche  Committee : 
Miss  Alice  Pratt 


lOI 


1 


The    FCindergarten 

^  I  "\HE  history  of  our  kindergarten  work  is  brief 
and  uneventful,  but  most  successful.  The 
first  work  done  by  our  church  in  this  depart- 
ment was  in  1890.  In  the  report  rendered  in  1893, 
the  following-named  persons  are  recorded  as  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  in  charge  : 

Mrs.  Walter  L.  Hervey,  Chairman 
Mrs.  Arthur  C.  James  Mrs.  H.  B.  Platt 

Mrs.  Charles  E.  Lawton       Mrs.  Louis  L.  Stanton 
Miss  Jennie  Underwood 

The  statement  submitted  in  1895  by  Miss  Eliza- 
beth G.  Parsons,  the  kindergartner,  shows  an  attend- 
ance upon  the  classes  of  forty  children. 

The  work  was  re-organized  in  1896,  under  the 
chairmanship  of  Miss  Mabel  Slade,  with  Miss  Flor- 
ence E.  Boyden  as  teacher.  Miss  Boyden  has  con- 
tinued in  this  position  till  a  year  ago,  when  leave  of 
absence  was  granted  her  for  one  year,  her  place  being 
in  the  meantime  supplied  by  her  assistant,  Miss 
Clara  G.  Long.  The  work  throughout  has  been  an 
interesting  and  beautiful  one. 

Miss  Slade     ....      Chairman 
Miss  Alice  J.  Smith  Secretary 

Mrs.  Benj.  Griffen  Mrs.  William  M.  Kingsley 

Mrs.  Arthur  C.  James      Mrs.  Graham  Lusk 

KINDERGARTEN  COMMITTEE 
(Report  of  1905-6) 
103 


The  Boys'  Club 

UNTIL  a  very  recent  date  the  work  carried  on 
at  the  Church  House  in  the  interest  of  the 
boys  has  been  mostly  of  an  experimental 
character.  For  a  number  of  years  semi-organized 
efforts  have  been  made  to  do  something  for  the 
domestication  of  this  rather  incorrigible  element  of 
our  East  Side  population,  and  several  of  the  young 
men  from  the  Madison  Square  Church  have  put  into 
the  work  an  incalculable  amount  of  time,  work  and 
patience.  The  need  was  felt  of  having  a  competent 
paid  manager  steadily  in  charge,  and  we  did  not  for  a 
considerable  time  see  our  way  clear  to  ask  for  an 
appropriation  sufficient  for  that  purpose.  Arrange- 
ment was  made  in  1903  with  Mr.  Edgar  A.  Smith  to 
give  us  a  part  of  his  time.  He  was  soon  replaced  by 
Mr.  W.  W.  Manee,  but  it  was  only  with  the  definite 
organization  of  the  enterprise  under  Mr.  H.  H. 
Wikel  and  an  arrangement  with  him  that  secured  to 
the  Church  House  his  entire  time  that  the  boys'  work 
commenced  to  show  vigor  and  to  yield  tangible  results. 
At  the  final  meeting  of  the  committee,  in  May  of 
1895,  it  developed  that  Mr.  Wikel  had  received  a 
larger  offer  from  the  Brooklyn  Polytechnic  Institute. 
His  resignation  was  accordingly  accepted,  but  with 
great  regret.  In  his  place  we  have  secured  Mr.  Alpheus 

105 


THE    BOYS      CLUB 


H.  Favour,  a  graduate  of  Amherst  in  1903  and  of  the 
New  York  Law  School  in  1905,  who  brought  with 
him  the  highest  recommendations  from  the  Gordon 
House,  East  Side  House  and  the  Chrystie  Street 
Settlement.  He  commenced  work  about  the  first  of 
September,  and  has  already  thoroughly  established 
himself  in  the  confidence  of  the  committee  and  in 
the  respect  of  the  boys. 

The  work  done  for  the  boys,  and  with  them,  is  laid 
out  along  the  lines  of  social  clubs,  gymnastic  drill, 
field  athletics,  orchestral  training  and  carpentry,  with 
as  much  in  the  way  of  intellectual  illumination  and 
moral  and  religious  suggestion  as  the  peculiar  features 
of  the  situation  render  feasible. 

The  present  organization  is  as  follows  : 


Arthur  C.  Ludington 
c.  c.  curran     . 
Dr.    Ellice  M.   Alger 
Mrs.  E.  C.  BoDMAN 
Mrs.  Seth  Sprague  Terry 
Miss  Helen  Ludington 
Dr.    Matthew  Beattie 
Alpheus  H.  Favour 


Chairman 
Secretary 
Treasurer 

Dr.  C.  H.   Parkhurst 

Leeds  Johnson 

Ernest  T.  Carter 

F.  G.  Crocker 
Director-in-  Charge 


106 


Girls'  Clubs 

THE  girls'  work  of  the  Madison  Square  Church 
was  started  on  November  21st,  1897,  at  384 
Third  Avenue  with  a  Bible  Class,  led  by 
Miss  Amy  Brown  and  Miss  Caroline  Delano.  There 
were  seventeen  girls  present  that  first  Sunday  after- 
noon. The  class  was  continued  throughout  that  win- 
ter, but  disbanded  during  the  summer.  The  following 
autumn  the  class  was  resumed,  and  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing, November  nth,  1898,  a  small  room  at  152  East 
Twenty-seventh  Street  was  opened  for  the  use  of  its 
members.  A  club  was  organized  and  later  in  the 
winter  another  was  formed  composed  of  the  younger 
girls ;  also  classes  in  dress-making  and  millinery  were 
started.  On  January  30th,  1901,  the  Girls'  Club  Com- 
mittee was  organized  with  the  following  members : 

Miss  Ethel  de  Forest  Miss  Mabel  Slade 

Mrs.  Graham  Lusk  Mrs.  B,   Clarkson 

(then  Miss  Tiffany)  (then  Miss  Helen  Smith) 

Miss  Caroline  Delano 

The  work  has  continued  during  all  these  years, 
growing  slowly  but  steadily. 

In  February,  1902,  the  first  Girls'  Club  Directress 
was  engaged  to  oversee  the  work. 

At  the  present  time  the  work  consists  of  a  Young 
Women's   Gospel  Meeting,  three   Bible  classes,  one 

107 


GIRLS      CLUBS 


for  teachers,  taught  by  the  Club  Directress,  one  for 
older  girls,  taught  by  Miss  Slade,  and  one  for  girls 
from  twelve  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  taught  by  Miss 
Gertrude  H.  Tifft.  There  are  four  organized  clubs 
and  fifteen  different  classes  in  the  following  subjects, 
— cooking,  dressmaking,  singing,  gymnastics,  sewing, 
machine  sewing,  music,  embroidery,  elocution,  milli- 
nery and  basketry.  The  total  enrollment  for  all  clubs 
and  classes  on  January  ist,  1906,  was  389.  The 
total  attendance  for  December,  1905,  was  over  1,500. 
The  work  is  now  under  the  direction  of  the  following 
committee  : 

Miss  Caroline  Delano         Miss  Mabel  Slade 
Miss  Ethel  Smith  Miss  Alice  M.  Kellogg 

Miss  Gertrude  H.   Tifft 


108 


The  Church  House  Library 

THIS  library  was  the  gift  to  us  of  the  Man- 
hattan East  Side  Mission,  formerly  known 
as  the  Bible  and  Fruit  Mission.  It  was 
upon  the  suspension  of  the  work  of  the  Mission  that 
the  transference  of  the  Library  to  us  was  made,  and 
that  through  the  kind  offices  of  Miss  Laura  Hoe. 

Upon  learning  of  the  probable  discontinuance  of 
that  East  Side  work,  and  feeling  that  its  proximity 
to  our  own  Third  Avenue  enterprise  might  m  some 
little  degree  create  for  us  the  character  of  a  legatee 
to  whatever  it  had  to  bequeath.  Dr.  Parkhurst  ap- 
proached Miss  Hoe,  one  of  the  interested  trustees 
of  the  Manhattan  East  Side  Mission,  with  reference 
to  the  library,  and  soon  after  received  from  her  the 
following  letter  : — 

Dr.  Parkhurst  : 

Dear  Sir  :  Thinking  over  the  library  with  all 
the  interest  1  have  had  in  it  for  eight  years,  I  resolved 
after  reading  your  letter  received  this  morning  to 
propose  to  the  Trustees  that  I  should  give  two  hun- 
dred dollars  for  the  library  to  be  sent  to  you  for  a 
Free  Circulating  Library.  The  motion  was  unani- 
mously adopted.  I  did  not  mean  to  forestall  any 
action  on  your  part,  but  my  proposition  was  handed 
in  first.  I  should  like  to  meet  you  or  your  repre- 
sentative at  an  early  date  at  the  library.  Some  of 
the  furniture  and  equipments  are  my  personal  prop- 

109 


THE    CHURCH    HOUSE    LIBRARY 

erty,  and  I  shall  need  to  confer  with  you  concerning 
them.  As  the  library  is  now  closed  and  no  one  is 
in  charge  of  the  books,  in  my  opinion  the  sooner 
they  are  removed  the  better  it  will  be. 

Very  truly  yours, 

AM      ^,    ,  Laura  Hoe. 

April  loth,    99. 

This  exceedingly  kind  act  on  the  part  of  Miss  Hoe 
and  her  associates  was  appreciatively  acknowledged 
and  the  books  at  once  removed  to  the  Adams  Mem- 
orial Church,  where  they  were  stored  for  two  years 
or  until  opportunity  for  their  use  was  afforded  by  the 
completion  of  our  Church  House  and  the  opening 
there  of  an  ample  library  and  reading  room. 

The  library,  since  its  installation  in  its  present 
quarters,  has  been  under  the  care  of  a  special  com- 
mittee, of  which  the  following-named  persons  have, 
for  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  time,  been  members  : — 
Messrs.  George  E.  Marcus,  B.  deF.  Curtiss,  Ernest 
T.  Carter,  Henry  V.  A.  Parsell,  Marcellus  Hartley 
Dodge  and  Dr.  Parkhurst ;  also  Mrs.  S.  M.  Hall, 
Miss  Lucy  H.  Humphrey  and  Miss  Katharine  Lud- 
ington.  Upon  the  first  organization  of  the  com- 
mittee Mr.  Marcus  was  made  president,  and  Mrs. 
Hall  secretary  and  treasurer.  Mr.  Marcus  soon 
resigned  and  Dr.  Parkhurst  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy  until  December,  1905,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Mr.  Curtiss,  present  chairman. 

1 10 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


The  library  has  been  particularly  fortunate  in  its 
librarians,  all  of  whom  have  not  only  discharged 
wisely  and  faithfully  the  duties  of  their  office,  but 
have  also  entered  fully  into  sympathy  with  the  gen- 
eral Christian  purpose  of  the  House.  The  first  of 
our  librarians  was  Miss  Joanna  Burnet,  who  com- 
menced service  with  us  in  June,  1901.  Upon  her 
resignation  in  June,  1903,  she  was  succeeded  by  Miss 
Harriette  Austin,  who  two  years  later  was  followed 
by  Miss  M.  E.  Leman. 

The  library  donated  to  us  was  an  admirably  selected 
one  and  contained  about  4,000  volumes.  The  circu- 
lation last  year  was  10,962,  and  the  attendance  in  the 
reading  room  5,379.  Constant  additions  have  been 
made  to  our  collection  throug-h  the  kindness  of 
friends,  and  monthly  loans  of  something  like  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  volumes  have  been  made  by  the  Trav- 
eling Department  of  the  New  York  Public  Library, 
adding  materially  to  the  effectiveness  of  our  work. 


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